Louise Westfall, Good Samaritan Center resident, gets a kiss from Sam, the center's labrador retriever. Dogs — and pets in
general — can provide emotional and physical benefits for all people, experts said at a recent human-animal bond sym
posium.
Below, Sam shows that a lack of affection can have the same depressing effect on dogs.
Dog lends helping paw
to ailing residents
of convalescent home
Only one of these pens
isthinenough
to draw the lineoelow.
The rolling bat pen that revolutionizes thin writing
=UO Bookstore—
. 1 ——i - 1 1 ■
Every morning, Sam, a golden-haired
labrador retriever, jaunts down the hallways of
the Good Samaritan Center, his paw pads click
ing against the tile floor as he makes his daily
rounds.
He'll stop inside residents' rooms, tail in
perpetual wagging motion, and nuzzle a cold
snout against their bodies. Sometimes he'll
plant a wet kiss on them.
Residents smile when they see Sam coming,
an observation which hasn't escaped Gunter
Brunk's eyes. Brunk, director of the center
which houses 148 people, frequently overheard
residents reminisce about their childhood pets.
Maybe a pet would make the convalescent
center more homey, Brunk thought.
Brunk's unscientific observation has been
documented scientifically: contact with animals
is physically, as well as emotionally, beneficial
for human beings.
The results speak for themselves, Brunk
says.
"It was amazing when we first got Sam
There was a resident here who hadn't talked at
all for months, and she just started talking (after
Sam came). People just get excited when he
comes in and jumps up and down," Brunk says
of the one-year-old retriever.
In the past three years, research on what
scientists dub Animal Facilitated Therapy has
blossomed.
Although animal lovers intuitively have
known for years the importance animals have in
their lives, only recently have scientists stumbl
ed upon empirical data which backs pet owners'
hunches.
For example, scientists at the University of
Pennsylvania were researching influential factors
on recovery rates of heart attack victims. As a
quirk, researchers checked which victims were
pet owners and which weren't.
Although pets cannot replace
traditional medicine in every
case, they are an 'adjunctive
measure/
Their findings were surprising, says Eugene
veterinarian Jerry Boggs, who directed the
Oregon Human-Animal Bond Symposium on
Saturday at the Valley River Inn.
Compared with non-pet owners, the
recovery rate of pet owners was "astounding,”
Boggs says. An estimated 70 percent of the pet
owners successfully recovered from heart at
tacks, compared to about 30 percent of non-pet
owners.
Similar studies have shown that simply
stroking an animal lowers both the human's and
the animal's blood pressure. Yet a human's
blood pressure rises during conversation with
another human being.
Even watching fish lowers human blood
pressure, Boggs says, and some dentists are cat
ching on to this by putting aquariums in their
offices.
Scientists are still unsure why animals exert
positive effects on humans — but they have
their hunches.
"Where else can you find a pill' that gives
you unconditional love," says Leo Bustad, a pro
fessor of veterinary medicine and former dean
of the Washington State University College of
Veterinary Medicine. Bustad is one of the na
tion's leading authorities on the human-animal
bond relationship. He spoke at the symposium
on therapeutic use of animals with the physical
ly disabled.
"You can be the ugliest person and an
animal will still love you," Bustad says. Animals
are especially useful for someone who lives
alone because they "socialize you and require
you to take them out for walks. Animals give
you security," he says.
Louise Westfall, a resident of Good
Samaritan Center, says she's known all her life
that animals are special.
"I have all the respect in the world for dogs
because they're loyal. You can trust a dog, but
you can't trust a human," Westfall says.
Everybody sits up when Sam comes," she
says. "I've never seen him cross a human being.
Everybody loves Sam and everybody
respects him. You've got to be
something special to have that kind
of reputation."
University psychologist Ray Lowe
says that besides "putting up with a
lot of crap," pets elicit the nurturing
instinct in human beings.
"The human organism strives to
be useful. Helping an animal survive
and grow is when you feel your
best," he says. "An animal cannot
substitute for a human. But they
stimulate people to move into
meeting other people."
Other mental health profes
sionals are beginning to recognize
the benefits of owning a pet. Portland
psychiatrist Michael McCulloch was
one of the first psychiatrists to
prescribe pets to some of his pa
tients. Although pets cannot replace traditional
medicine in every case, pets are an "adjunctive
measure," says McCulloch, who also spoke at
the symposium.
Individuals who often benefit from pet
prescriptions usually have one of the following
symptoms: depression, physical illness, absence
of humor or recent role reversal into a negative
dependency, McCulloch says.
“By using such highly selective criteria with
sensibility and good judgement, you can recom
mend a pet as you would recommend a drug,"
he says.
But pets are not the be-all, end-all to
medicine, Boggs says, and people should view
them as another alternative to good mental and
physical health.
physical health.
"I doubt cardiologists will start recommen
ding that people buy a dog to deal with heart
problems. But if people have an inclination to
do that, I hope cardiologists and
psychologists will welcome them to
do so," Boggs says.
McCulloch says he would not
"prescribe" a pet to someone who
has never had a pet or to someone
who doesn't like animals.
Although 55 percent of all
American homes have pets, a large
percentage of Americans — about 40
percent — aren't happy with their
pets and treat them disrespectfully.
An estimated 11 to 13 million
animals are put to sleep each year.
But as long as Good Samaritan
residents have a say in their pet's
well-being, Sam doesn't have any
worries.
"Kiss me, baby," says Westfall to
the labrador retriever. With a juicy
smack of his tongue, Sam obliges.
Story by Joan Herman
Photos by Dave Kao
r
EXCEPTIONAL
MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
For exceptional College Grads (and those who are soon to be)
CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES:
• NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
• BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
• AVIATION • LAW
• MEDICINE • INTELLIGENCE
• CIVIL ENGINEERING
• SHIPBOARD OPERATIONS
Sign up for an interview in the Career Placement Office.
Interviews will be held in the Placement Center
Nov. 9-11 • 9 a m.-4 p.m.
For more information, call toll-free 1-800-452-3872
-Get Responsibility Fast
■\
J
BESTSELLER 20% DISCOUNT^
“PET SEMATARY”
by Stephen King
#4 Fiction
Can Staphan King scare even
himself?
Yes. this is the book so horrifying
that for a time its author was
unwilling to finish writing it. As
the story unfolds, so does a
nightmare of the supernatural,
one so relentless you won't want
... at moments ... to continue
reading ... but will be unable to
stop.
"You do it because it gets hold ot
you," says the nice old man with
the secret
Reg. $15.95 YOUR DISCOUNT $1 2.76
All Bestsellers Always Discounted
• Receive an additional 10% off
with Student/Fac/Staff ID
• New York Times Hardcover
• Cash Register Sales Only
• Limited to stock on hand
UO
BOOKSTORE
GENERAL BOOKS 686-3510
13th & Kincaid
Mon.-Fri. 7:30-5:30
Sat. 10:00-3:00
L
Food Service
Now there are
TWO Food Vans
to serve you
is Freshly Baked Croissants
is Sandwiches
ts Fresh Fruit
Yogurt
^ Hot and Cold Drinks
Look for our new food van at Chapman
Hall, 8 am - 2pm
We’re still at our regular location at the
Library turnaround 9:30 am - 2 pm
INTRODUCES
a new standard in quality software
The 'Library of Software'
for your personal computer
offering these important features
HIGH QUALITY. DEPENDABLE PROGRAMS FOR MOST MAJOR PERSONAL COMPUTERS
SIMPLIFIED. EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND DOCUMENTATION FOR EACH PROGRAM
AN '800" NUMBER FOR COMPLETE CUSTOMER SERVICE
SOfTSMITH often programs in the following key software categories
□ Education □ Word Processing
□ Home Management □ Data Base Management
□ Small Business □ Communications
□ Games & Entertainment Q Utilities
COME IN AND SEE HOW SOFTSMITH
Is setting a new standard in quality software.
OVER 175 TITLES NOW AVAILABLE
We Now Carry maxell,
FLOPPY DISKS
$095
reg. $4.95 NOW W
THE BOOKSTORE now
has SOFTWARE for
• IBM • Apple
• Commodore • Timex
•Texas Instruments
uo
BOOKSTORE
13th & Kincaid
Mon. - Fri. 7.30 - 5:30
Sat. 10:00 • 3:00
Supplies 686-4331
G2
read THE EMERALD
Page 7