Category Archives: Healing Power of Pets

Drowning is the number one cause of death for children between the ages of 1 and 4, but this rate is higher for children with special needs, including autism. For that reason, safety swim classes are something parents often seek out. But what if your child is terrified of the water, and experiences such severe […]

How many people who say they hate cats just don’t know cats? A while ago, Buzzfeed sent two self-professed cat haters to volunteer at a cat adoption cafe. I give you one guess what happened: Each of them fell in love with a cat. This emotional transformation demonstrated the power specifically of the cat, of […]

Our family welcomed a new family member into our home on Christmas Eve in 2010, and said goodbye to her on Christmas Day seven years later. Our beloved family member was an eight-year-old Lab/pit bull mix, who came with the name Gracie. I typically call euthanasia as the gift of the “final grace,” and it […]

Usually firefighters save dogs. Now the dogs are returning the favor. Because of their frequent exposure to chemicals and toxic fumes, firefighters are at risk for certain types of cancer, including respiratory and urinary cancers. A Canadian organization called Cancer Dogs is hoping to reduce that risk through screenings with dogs trained to detect cancer […]

It’s a terrible truth that many victims of domestic abuse and violence are kept in danger because their abuser threatens to harm the family pets. This truth is all the more terrible because that’s exactly what happened to Dr. Marty Becker’s daughter, Mikkel Becker. In recognition of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, she shares her […]