Introduction

From a young age I have always had a love for animals, frequently escaping away from my Mother during a super market visit, to hug a strange dog tied up outside. When I wasn't playing with my dolls, I was wrapping the families persain cat, Oscar, up in a blanket, placing him in my bram, and walking around the house like he was my own baby. The first animal which had a significant influence in my childhood was Milly, a black miniature poodle. I was six years old when we brought her home, and for the next 16 years we were inseparable. Words cannot express what an amazing dog she was. I put her in the baby swing at the park and she would happily sit there being pushed while her ears flapped in the wind. She let me do crazy things like that to her on a daily basis. Like when I thought I was a trainee, working at the circus and she was my lion, we would do performances for my parents and again she would happily play along. She was there every step of the way throughout my childhood, and through my teens, it was Milly who lay be side me through break ups and never judged me as I was burning photos of ex boyfriends, instead she softly graced up beside me put a smile on my face and got me out of the house. She is the reason why I write this post now.  

Being the enthusiastic second year that I was, I attended the honour students presentations. It was here that I first learnt about Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT). My knowledge of this topic was extremely limited, I had a brief understanding however was left feeling immensely intrigued. When the opportunity came where I was able to incorporate my passion for animals and my chosen profession, needless to say study didn't seem quite so tedious. The purpose of this blog is to research a topic in relationship to Occupational Therapy (OT) which interests me, and will bring my study to a close in two months time.  

So here is what I know so far......... 

AAT is a type of therapy that involves animals as a form of treatment. An overall goal is to improve a patients physcial, social, emotional, or cognitive functioning. As an Occupational Therapist (OT), one aims to enable and empower people to be competent and confident in their daily lives . So exactly how does AAT fit within the scope of OT? Over the next two months  my posts will explore types of AAT in relation to OT, where I aim at concluding my research by drawing on my own professional opinion and perception on what I have learnt.