Pet therapy is based on the emotion that arises from the bond between patient and animal — a true antidote to loneliness. The Little Prince shows us the way.
In a passage from the famous book The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the protagonist meets a fox, asks who she is and invites her to play with him. The fox replies: "I cannot play with you, I am not tamed." After a brief reflection, the little prince asks her: "What does 'tame' mean?" and the fox replies again: "It is something that has long been forgotten. It means to create ties. If you tame me, we shall need each other. You will be for me the only one in the world, and I shall be for you the only one in the world."
It is essential to understand what that special bond represents — the one that has formed over the centuries between humans and animals. We know that humans have always made use of animals for food, for hunting, for work, for clothing. And yet, at a certain point, they felt the need to relate to them. The first relationship was certainly with the dog, favoured by the similarities that exist in both communication patterns and social structures. Over time, other factors — such as necessity, tradition, culture and evolution — have transformed the attitude that humans (unfortunately not all of them) hold towards animals. The interaction between two or more living beings becomes an emotional bond when a particular element, as special as it is universal, comes into play: attachment. The natural human tendency to form emotional bonds is attributable to our need for belonging. Often, our human perception can even alter our judgement of another person who is not capable of feeling the same emotions as we do.
A study by Lockwood showed that the perception of people accompanied by or associated with animals is generally more positive than that of people who live without animals. Moreover, we must not forget that empathy plays a fundamental role in developing relationships with people whom we feel are similar to us because of the emotional choices they have made. Our need to extend our affective sphere towards those who ask for nothing other than affection is essential to understanding what kind of relationship can develop between human and animal, and this is one of the foundations of pet therapy.
The assistance of animals has therefore become widespread among people with communication difficulties, including verbal ones; prisoners; patients in psychiatric hospitals; patients with spastic muscular contractions; children with cerebral palsy; and drug addicts. It is clear that both animals and humans benefit from these companionship relationships. Serpell argues that "the reduction of stress attributed to social relationships and attachment can, in certain situations, transcend the barriers that normally separate one species from another."