Animals help people

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The Animals Help People Association (THM) was founded in 1987 in Würzburg. The aim of the association is to help old, sick, disabled and disadvantaged people in therapy with animals . With the animal visit services, the association supports doctors, therapists, educators and carers in their work on a voluntary basis.

Today the association, based in Würzburg, is Germany's largest association for therapy with animals and is active in over 70 regional groups with 1,100 active members in homes for the disabled, old people's and children's homes as well as numerous other projects and facilities. The former club chairman Graham Ford († 2015) was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in 2007 due to the club's successes .

The association "Animals Help People eV" sums up its motivation and philosophy in the following words:

It is by no means a new finding that animals can have positive effects on our emotional world, on various physiological functions of our body and thus ultimately on our health. Just the presence of an animal in the same room leads to a decrease in blood pressure and a decrease in the sensations of stress.

Animals don't ask about disabilities or social problems, they directly answer the love and care that is shown to you. Stroking an animal creates a feeling of security, camaraderie, constancy and intimacy and contributes to physical and psychological well-being.

tasks and goals

The association pursues exclusively and directly non-profit purposes. The aim of the association is to promote the positive health effects of pets and pets on people. The club's goal is realized in different areas of responsibility:

  • Visiting programs with animals in social institutions
  • Animal-assisted activities, education and therapy accompanying activities
  • Research and Teaching
  • Promotion of home and pet keeping in line with the association's goal

Visiting programs with animals in social institutions

The members and their pets visit people in old people's and nursing homes, hospitals and schools, children's homes and facilities for the disabled. For the most part, the visit takes place with dogs . However, there are also projects with ward and residential group cats, birds, guinea pigs , rabbits , horses, etc. When choosing the facility, the temperament and age of the animal as well as the interests and inclinations of the members (old people, children, disabled people, etc.) ) considered. The visit itself (usually once a week) can be organized in different ways. Usually individuals are visited in their room or small groups in a common room. In addition to the program items petting and feeding, objects can also be retrieved, tricks performed or a walk can be taken.

Another field of activity of the visiting services is to promote the positive effects of animals on children and young people. For example, the “Lesehund” project helps children with reading disabilities by reading stories to a dog. Animals can also have a positive effect on hyperactive and behavioral children, as well as children with concentration and integration problems. Another concern of the association "Animals Help People eV" is the inclusion of the subject of "keeping pets" as a field of instruction in schools.

Support animal-assisted activities, science and research, education and therapy

The association supports doctors, therapists and educators in their efforts to use animals in their respective professional fields. For example with the project "School Dog", the association advocates that teachers bring their dogs with the appropriate qualifications to regular lessons. The first positive experiences about the influence on social and learning behavior could already be proven here. Doctors and therapists in clinics and private practices, where the use of their own animals is often impractical, are assisted by "visiting animals" and their companions. Where your own animals are to be used, the association helps with advice and establishes contacts with like-minded colleagues. In order to reinforce the latter, ThM regularly organizes "specialist groups" such as "remedy providers" (speech therapists, occupational and physiotherapists), "school dogs" and "social animal farms" (farm owners and institutions that offer animal-assisted approaches with farm animals). There are other specialist groups on specific topics, such as hospice , vegetative coma , animals in prison, autism , psychology / psychiatry and assistance dogs.

Support research and teaching

Through the members of its scientific advisory board as well as other scientists and practitioners in the field of animal-assisted intervention, the association regularly offers up-to-date, practical seminars on the subjects of "old people and animals", "children and animals" and "people with disabilities and animals". Thanks to the extensive archive of scientific papers and lectures, the association is in turn able to provide interested students and young scientists with information for diploma and doctoral theses free of charge. Animals help people has helped in the creation of over 1000 scientific papers. Many volunteer members also participated in these investigations.

Non-profit

The association finances its work from membership fees, donations, grants and legacies. The association is recognized as a non-profit organization.

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