Delta Society was
founded in 1977 as an international, not-for-profit organization
of pet owners, volunteers, therapists, educators, veterinarians,
and other health professionals. Animals ahve long been
part of programs to help people, as the following excerpt
from an article by Linda Hines, M. A. and Leo K. Bustad,
D.V.M., Ph.D. explain:"
"The early Greetks gave horseback
rides to raise the spirits of persons who were incurably
ill,. From the 17th century, the medical literature contains
occasional references to horseback riding as beneficial
for gout, neurological disorders, and low morale.
In the 1940s, at the Pawling New York
Convalescent Hospital, the American Red Cross and The
Army Air Corps set up a program for recuperating (veterans)
which involved association witha wide variety of animals
in a farm situation. But it wasn't until the publication
of Boris Levinson's "Pet-Oriented Child Psychotherapy"
in 1969 that anyone made a serious plea for careful investigation
of the healing power of assication with animals.
The idea that human interactions with
companion animals can result in physiological changes
and psychological beneifts is gradually being accepted...(Hines,
L.M., and Bustad, L.K. 1986 "Historical Perspectives
on Human-Animal Interactions." National Forum, 66:4-6.
The mission and goals of Delta Society
are:
To expand the awareness of the positive
effects animals can have on human health and development.
To reduce barriers that prevent involvement
of animals.
To expand the therapeutic and service role
of animals in human healthcare and education.
To train handlers and register Pet Partner
teams in the United States.
