Less stress? Therapy animals are turning up everywhere — in hospitals, on planes and on college campuses. But is there scientific evidence to back up claims that they alleviate stress and improve the lives of their handlers?
Yale University doctoral candidate Molly Crossman reviewed literature on the subject and found mixed results; the effect of having a therapy animal was sometimes positive, sometimes negative, and often had no effect, The Washington Post reported.
Although funding for studies is growing, the lack of research to prove the correlation between therapy animals and better lives has led agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs to deny funding for the animals for people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, the Post reported. (ontinueReading
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