Posted by wittgensteinz on February 20, 2009, at 10:32:46
In reply to Pets and happiness, posted by backseatdriver on February 19, 2009, at 19:35:11
Yes - this strikes close to home. Getting 2 dogs in the past year and a half (my first pets) has helped me enormously. In the beginning they literally gave back a meaning to my life (I hope that doesn't make me sound too much of a loser but it's true). They gave me a reason (an obligation) to get up in the morning and walk with them. Those 45 minutes in the cold each morning wake me up and get me going for the day.
They are the most wonderful listeners - they almost intuitively sense when I'm down and come and cheer me up. I also love to watch and laugh at their doggie antics. Caring for them is therapeutic - I happen to have dogs with long, thick coats so they require frequent grooming to keep them beautiful. This means lots of time quietly bonding with them and taking care of them.
I once took my eldest dog with me to therapy (it was a once off because we had painters working in the house, so I couldn't leave her at home). It was a fun but not so constructive session. I loved how he greeted her when we arrived - he was very affectionate to her - he bent down and gave her a cuddle. First I kept her on the lead but she was fidgety so I asked if I could let her roam free, which he didn't mind. So she explored his whole office, jumped up onto his analyst divan for a moment and stole tissues from his waste bin. I was a bit embarrassed about the tissues but he told me not to worry - later he wrote in a mail that he was glad he had seen her as she was different than he had imagined from my description. I doubt I will do this again but I felt quite proud to show her to him - she was about 7 months old at the time.
Have any of you ever had the opportunity to share about your pets with your therapist? Do you any of your therapists have pets in their practice? My ex-pdoc had a giant Schnauzer which I met one day in the hallway.
Sorry, I'm probably going a bit off track here.
Witti
poster:wittgensteinz
thread:881167
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20090214/msgs/881296.html