A Balance Between Various Benefits of AAI and Animal’s Welfare

Animal Assisted Intervention, AAI for short, has gradually spread across hospitals, which provide
service for a heterogeneous population (Barker & Barker, 2019). The overspeed of its
development has soon attracted peoples’ eyes. Although AAI is believed to not only help cure
different types of diseases but benefit different roles of people in hospitals as well, there are also
notable drawbacks, including infection risks and possible violation of animal’s welfare. Hence,
whether AAI is worth implementing or not is still being heatedly debated. This essay will first
illustrate the above two upsides and then show how a balance can be stricken between the animal’s
welfare and the benefits AAI brings, which can maximize the profit of AAI in hospitals and
construct the future (Fine, Beck & Ng, 2019).

For different patients suffering from different diseases, AAI always acts as a significant role to
help them throughout the therapies. AAI is often used to help children’s patients since animals and
children are believed to have affection to each other (Beetz, 2018). Barker and Barker (2019)
found that children are consistently delighted the instant they see these dog assistants and seemed
to relieve from most of their negative thoughts generated by unexpected loneliness in hospitals. In
addition to aid children’s patients, AAI is helpful for comforting patients with special diseases. For
example, in an experiment, the cluster of patients suffering from psychiatry disease with the aid of
AAI statistically uses less time to recover than that which is not conducted AAI (Marr et al., 2000,
as cited in Baker & Barker, 2019). They thus conclude that AAI can ease them from being alone.
Another example of what AAI specializes in dealing with is cancer. Barker and Barker believe that
AAI are possibly able to release cancer patients from those disgusting pain. Admittedly, the use of
AAI in these areas is of great success, however, AAI may contribute to negative results especially
for those who are not yet in good health condition. Barker and Barker point out the premier risk is
infection caused by animals. Only if AAI is appropriately limited in terms of infection control and
other rules, then its benefit won’t be eclipsed.

By carefully regulating AAI in the procedure of curing patients, other roles of people in the
hospital would also be benefited, thus leading to a better network of staffs, visitors, and patients.
Roberts, Bibbo & O’Hare (2022) show that AAI is probably a new way to liberate staffs of the
strain from healthcare work and connect them more effectively through its unique ability of
socialization. Visitors, especially families, are benefited as well. They also find that AAI such as
therapy dogs can significantly comfort parents and families who are overwhelmed by stress and
nervousness in hospitals. McCullough et al. (2018, as cited in Roberts, Bibbo & O’Hare, 2022)
proved this idea by an observation which found that the reduction of strain and stress is significant
for those parents conducted AAI. These two roles of people above are closely related to patients
by AAI, which leads to more transparent communications. Experts show that patients and their
families are more likely to disclose more sensitive information, which is important for healthcare
(West et al., 2016, as cited in Roberts, Bibbo & O’Hare, 2022). While these benefits are valid,
unlimited AAI increase animal’s workload and may potentially cause negative results.

The violation of welfare is considered as one of those negative results. Compared to the possible
overstated and deviate public understanding of the impact of AAI on human (Hart et al., as cited in
Fine, Beck & Ng, 2019), most people are not aware of the potential stress and strain for animals
who are members of AAI program yet (Ng et al., 2019, as cited in Fine, Beck & Ng, 2019). Too
much stress can violate the welfare of therapy animals, which may result in relatively bad
performance. However, this problem is not unavoidable. Fine, Beck & Ng (2019) indicate three
main points to guarantee the therapy animals’ rights and interests in three sessions to reach the
highest efficiency. First and foremost, it is vital to previously take up examinations to choose the
suitable animals who are safe enough to play their role. Meanwhile, handlers who are responsible
for animals’ welfare also need adequate trainings and strict examinations. After the preparation for
the AAI, preventing animals from getting ill is what we need to do throughout the therapy work.
Both patients and animals’ behavior should be regulated. Washing hands frequently is highly
recommended for people while practices like shaking paws, getting up on beds, licking faces,
and taking treats should be reduced as much as possible. Then lastly, we should evaluate the most
suitable time of retirement of the animals, which minimize the effect of change in the triangular
relation of handler, dog, and patients (Rhodes & Gee, 2021). Another bad result is that AAI may
harm animals, humans, and their connection. Injuries, infection, and financial problem may block
the way AAI develops. To avoid this problem, handler is the most significant role to balance the
welfare of animals and the benefits AAI brings, thus leading to a minimum of bad results caused
by unregulated AAI therapy.

Admittedly, AAI is still in progress and handler-animal-patient triangle (Rhodes & Gee, 2021) is
seemed fragile and unstable. But if we can well define the welfare of animals and the regulations
in hospitals by carefully regarding all the different roles, this triad will together produce the
biggest effect of those two wide benefits in the above arguments.

Word count: 932

References
Barker, S. B., & Barker, R. T. (2019). Animal-Assisted Interventions in Hospitals. In A. H. Fine
(Ed.), Handbook on animal-assisted therapy: Foundations and guidelines for animal-
assisted interventions (5th edition) (pp. 329-342). Academic Press.
https://doi.org/10.1016/B00021-3
Beetz, A. M. (2018). Children and Companion Animals: Psychosocial, Medical, and.
Neurobiological Implications. Frontiers Media SA.
Fine, A. H., Beck, A. M., & Ng, Z. (2019). The State of Animal-Assisted Interventions:
Addressing the Contemporary Issues That Will Shape the Future. International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(16), 1-19.
https://doi.org/10.330/ijerph3997
Rhodes, T. A., & Gee, N. R. (2021). Canine-Assisted Interventions in Hospitals: Best Practices for
Maximizing Human and Canine Safety. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 8, 1-12.
https://doi.org/10.339/fvets.615730
Roberts, K. E., Bibbo, J., & O’Hare, M. E. (2022). Perspectives on facility dogs from pediatric
hospital personnel: A qualitative content analysis of patient, family, and staff outcomes.
The European Society for Clinical Practice. https://doi.org/10.101/2022.1534