Pets as Therapy..

We have commenced our work with the Whitechapel centre assisting in the rehabilitation of those in need, by using dogs as therapy. - through the WAVES of Hope scheme.

The Liverpool Based Whitechapel centre is a leading charity working with the homeless and housing needs.

Our exceptional dogs bring comfort and happiness to people with a range of disabilities and emotional needs, including those in nursing homes, rehab facilities, hospices, special needs schools and more. Our dogs have what it takes to work with vulnerable people, and provide those at risk of depression and alienation with a new lease on life.

Dogs have been providing love and reassurance to their owners for centuries. For as long as dogs have been domesticated, there has been evidence of their natural healing abilities over the physically and emotionally convalescent. The first therapeutic use of dogs can be traced back to ancient Greece, when dogs were employed to lick the wounds of injured human patients.

In the 1700s, Quakers brought dogs to some of the earliest treatment centres for the mentally unstable, allowing patients to raise and tend to pets in order to rebuild their social skills. Later in Europe, Florence Nightingale herself developed early theories on the use of animals in therapy, acknowledging their unique power to heal.

Through World War II and into the modern era, the training and procurement of therapy dogs has been taken on with a more organised, formal approach.

One pioneer of contemporary animal therapy was Nancy Stanley, who in the 1970s helped spark current demand for therapy dogs across the world. Since then, several studies have been carried out proving that interaction with dogs increases levels of neurotransmitters associated with happiness and bonding, while reducing chemicals associated with distress.