ABOUT ME!
About the author: My name is Brianne Phillips and I am a Masters level student Social Worker. I am engaged and will be getting married towards the end of this year whoo-whoo! (Below is a picture of him and I)
If you are an avid animal lover, like myself, then this is the blog for you! Meet my dogs Sydney (right) and Cienna (left) and my horses Taz (right) and Willow (left). Who else can say that their animals are the center of their life? What about the ones who can’t? This blog is used to highlight the importance of animal welfare, as well as, importance our voices play into advocating for our non-human companions! I know you are probably asking yourself… “What can I do to help?” Scroll down and find out! 😉
xoxo, Bri
January 16, 2020
WHO IS HELPING SUPPORT OUR CAUSE?
“Each year, approximately 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized (670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats)” (ASPCA, 2020).
The government has passed bills regarding animal welfare. The most recent enacted bill was passed by President Donald Trump on November 25, 2019; called PACT- Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (Deutch, 2019). This bill makes animal cruelty and torturing a federal offense in the United States (Thank you, Jesus!).
A current bill that is being proposed is: “Bill H.Res 34: Expressing support for designation of the first Saturday in October as National Animal Rescue Day to create awareness of the importance of adoption and to educate on the importance of spaying and neutering animals and the encouragement of animal adoptions throughout the United States” (Norcross, 2019). ((UM YES PLZ!))
How many of y’all like second chances? Rescuing is SO important because it gives these sweet little balls of fur a second chance. They get a second chance at love, whether that means they will no longer be on a chain, starved, homeless, beaten, neglected medical attention. They get a second chance to live a life they DESERVED.
Here are just a few ways to help the cause: 1) Donating Money/items to a local/ non local rescue group ((Just in case you didn’t know- there are rescue groups for ALL kinds of animals! )) 2) Donating money/ items to a shelter 3) Adopting a fur baby #Adoptdon’tshop 4) Fostering a fur baby so, more fur babies can be rescued
“What if 190,000 humans were euthanized just because they were homeless?”
-Unknown
February 3, 2020
Taking A Look at Mental Health
What are some ways Social Workers can incorporate this population while still addressing everyday concerns with their fellow human companions? The first way we are going to look at is Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT). What is that? Kinda how it sounds… Bringing animals into your practice and making them apart of your clients treatment plan.
Rapport building is the most important thing a social worker can begin to do for their client.
What happens when a social worker is working with a client who is quiet and doesn’t like to open up?
By incorporating AAT into your practice, it allows you to open the floor up for conversation even though you aren’t speaking. Animals bring up a topic in themselves; they also allow a pair of ears to listen and be less intimidating than those that are human.
Mental Health in America
1 in every 5 adults in the United States experience a Mental health issue (Nami, 2019).
There are 70.4% youth inside the juvenile justice system that are diagnosed with a mental health disorder; Depression and Anxiety are the leading mental health disorders worldwide (Nami, 2019).
Mental Health Addressed with Animal Assisted Therapy
According to UCLA Health, there are THREE mood hormones that are released while petting a dog that are beneficial in lowering anxiety and stress, help recall memories, and act as a catalyst in the therapy process (2019).
AAT helps with disorders such as; Anxiety, Depression, Autism, Alzheimer’s, Dementia, patients suffering from chronic pain and more (UCLA Health, 2019).
February 18, 2020
Veterinary Social Work
How many of y’all knew this was a REAL job? How many of y’all would consider this your dream job? When people say the Social Work Profession is broad THEY TOTALLY MEAN IT!
Holcombe and colleagues state, “The primary focus of this discipline is on the human side of the human-animal bond” (2016).
There are four competencies that Veterinary Social Workers study (Holcombe et. al., 2016)
- Grief from the loss of an animal
- Compassion fatigue in the animal services fields
- The connection between animal and human violence
- Animal-assisted interventions
There are 5 times more witnessed deaths in the veterinary field than human medical professionals. The amount of compassion fatigue experienced due to this statistic is high. There are support services not only for clients and their families, but also the staff (Brackenridge and McPherson, 2016).
Veterinary Social Work Practicum
I have had two practicums in the Dallas-Ft.Worth area and not once did I know that a GREAT practicum for Veterinary Social Work was in Lewisville, Tx.
Veterinary Social Workers have been apart of the veterinary field since the 1980’s; Susan Cohen, DSW was the director of one of the earliest “client support programs” at an Animal Hospital in New York. (Brackenridge and McPherson, 2016).
There are multiple intervention levels that veterinary social workers work at. There are quite a few tasks that they take on ensuring client needs. The human-animal bond is a very strong bond and death of a (seen as) family member will always be hard.
March 30, 2020
Students and Animal Assisted Therapy
According to Grajfoner and colleagues studies show that just 20 minutes with a therapy dog increases positive mood, reduction of anxiety, and spreads the feeling of love and support (2017).
“Student mental health, resilience, and well-being are key concerns for the universities as they impact student performance generally…” (Grajfoner, et. al., 2017)
The bill being proposed can save a lot of shelter animals lives which can than transfer to the happiness of students of all ages. With rising numbers of depression and anxiety, AAT is an important tool that needs to be implemented.
An important study to bring up to Legislator Norcross is a study that was done looking at a triad. This triad included the therapy dog, their handler, and the therapy dog ALONG with their handler. This study aimed to see the affects if any this had on university aged students. (3) Questionnaires were given to the students: An Anxiety measure, a mood measure, and a well-being measure prior to the interaction part of the study. The students spent 20 minutes in their assigned room. <(TP) Standard pet therapy – (DO) Dog only- (HO) Handler only. >After the interaction aspect the students were asked to complete the questionnaires again.
(Grajfoner et. al, 2017).
Can you guess the results of the study? ** Across the three measures, interacting with just the therapy dog had noticeable positive pre-post results, but having the handler with the dog was perceived as neutral in feelings and mood.
I mean we should just bombard the legislative council right now! Who is in favor or saving animals and students lives?! MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
April 13, 2020
Shelter Animals Becoming Therapy Animals? Yay or Nay?!?!
Ummmmm Yay x1000000!
Pet Partners is a HUGE pet therapy organization and they back our yay up 😉 Wanna know something cool? They advise individuals to not overlook animals that might have special needs or a disability because upon passing their obedience and therapy training, they will cast an extra sparkle for potential human clients they visit (Pet Partners, 2016).
A few other pet therapy organizations (but not limited to…) that support the idea of shelter animals becoming therapy animals are: 1) Paws With a Cause 2) Pets for Vets and 3) Service Dog Express.
“A dog’s life saved, a human’s enriched”
– Service Dog Express Motto, 2020
Paws With A Cause helps to enhance the self-sufficiency of individuals with a disability (Paws With a Cause, 2018).
Pets for Vets offers a second chance and new beginning for both shelter dogs and veterans (Pets for Vets, 2017).
Service Dog Express does a variety of multiple kinds of pet therapy training but specializes in training for Wounded Warriors or individuals suffering from PTSD and TBI (Service Dog Express, 2020).
Individuals that have a history of mental health, trauma, abuse, a disability, even people just looking for a companion, can benefit from a shelter pet. They are looking for love, despite the scars on their head, the mange on their body, and the scared look in their eyes.
Shelter animals can sometimes provide a connection that no human can and this bond won’t ever be broken.
- Legislator Norcross can thank me later for providing a list of of supporters and/ or testifiers for proposed Bill H.Res 34. Amirite???;)
- Pet Partners alone have pull not only through their message and organization but also with researchers, facilities, professionals, oh and the general public! (Pet Partners, 2016).
End With A Friend 