PAWS THAT HEAL

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Paws that heal

Are you suffering from chronic depression? Get yourself a pet, says

 

 

Sharmistha Choudhury's residence in Park Street, Calcutta, is a long

way off Hong Kong but she is part and parcel of a process that emerged

in that metropolis and is unexpectedly changing people's lives

throughout Asia. The director of Detson's Private Limited, an

electrical company in central Calcutta, she longs to come home soon

after work so that she can spend time with her dogs. " I suffered from

chronic depression, " explains Choudhury, " but ever since I got two pet

dogs, I have changed. " Describing herself as a 'volcano' before the

acquisition of her pets, Choudhury attributes her present placidity to

the positive effect brought about by her Spitz and Golden Retriever.

" Even the servants are surprised, " she chuckles.

 

The beneficial effects of animals on human behaviour are increasingly

being noticed in the city. Small wonder that animal therapy is now

being introduced in India. The scheme was presented by the Hong

Kong-based Animals Asia Foundation at a Singapore conference last

year. Organisations in Calcutta such as Maitreyee and Compassionate

Crusaders Trust have been quick to follow their lead.

 

" I am now being approached by many people who want a pet to heal their

societal wounds, " says Kishor Kumar Ganguli, founder of Maitreyee, a

pet care organisation based in south Calcutta. People in distress,

depression, loneliness and bereavement turn to him in the hope that a

pet will help alleviate their suffering. " I generally oblige, " he

mentions.

 

Educationist Kabita Guha, pro-rector of Garden High School, agrees

with Ganguli. " A family member recently fell ill. My dogs made a lot

of difference during those difficult days, " she gushes. " That is the

power of animal therapy — something that cannot be matched by the

illusory world of drugs and discos. "

 

Dr Brendan MacCarthaigh, a psychotherapist who heads the Serve Centre,

a Calcutta-based institution that assists people in need of

counselling, highlights another aspect. " Pets can be a great idea for

mortally ill and old people, " he reveals. According to him, pets are a

substitute for physical human intimacy since they provide cathexis

(warm emotional attachment). Such therapy can work wonders on the mind

and falls into the category of occupational therapy.

 

Usually therapy for any ailment is of two kinds, elucidates Sushil

Kumar Chakrabarti, retired head of medicine at Calcutta's PG Hospital.

Specific therapy involves medicine and operations while occupational

therapy involves an activity. Pet therapy falls into the latter

category, Chakrabarti points out, and adds that it can be just as

effective as medicines and intrusive ministrations.

 

Debashis Roy, consultant psychiatrist at the Apollo Gleneagles Clinic

on Calcutta's Theatre Road, explains that animals have a positive

effect in assuaging grief and reducing trauma. " They can act as a

catalyst in psychiatric treatment for patients who have experienced an

immediate loss of a family member, " he explains.

 

Therapeutic effect of animals on people is not just for bunny huggers.

Choudhury admits that she was never a hard core animal lover. " The

healing effect of my dogs has made me one, " she smiles. John

Wedderburn, a practicing doctor on Lamma Island in Hong Kong, agrees

with Choudhury. " Using animals to heal people besieged with illness

can often make individuals more compassionate, " he says.

 

Wedderburn's assertion goes down well with Sarbani Chakrabarti, former

principal of Jote Shibarampur Girls' School in Calcutta, whose family

members have interacted with him. " I had Sputnik, my pet Chihuahua,

imported from Australia to serve as my companion after my retirement, "

she says. And little Sputnik, tottering at her feet, seems to have

done his job satisfactorily, fulfilling the hiatus created after her

retirement from her busy academic life.

 

The programme is not just for the rich and famous. Even villagers seem

to have been affected. " We have positive responses from village

children when we ask them for their feelings for their animal

companions, " says Poornima Toolsidas, founder trustee of the

Compassionate Crusaders Trust in Calcutta. Her organisation is

promoting animal therapy for children so that they develop a sense of

responsibility.

 

" Pets often can be life giving in difficult circumstances, " adds

MacCarthaigh. So the bottomline of animal therapy, it seems, is the

loving 'hug' that serves to heal the pain.

 

Pet talK

 

• A companion animal aids heart patients

 

• Companion animals reduce stress

 

• Pets assist in coping with the tension and pressures of the rat race

 

• Pets help children to identify an object of love

 

• Pets reduce anxiety

 

• Pets assist recovery after a major illness

 

• Pets can provide an outlet for human emotions

 

• Pets reciprocate affectionately and provide warmth for lonely people.