Therapy dogs in ICU - a 15 minute visit that eased pain for patients
Share
A Canberra hospital studied what happens when a calm, well-trained dog visits ICU patients for 15 minutes. Most people already reported very little pain, so the median did not change. The interesting part was at the higher end. Among the 25 percent of patients with the worst pain, scores tightened from a range of 0 to 5 down to 0 to 2 after the dog visit, and the drop was statistically significant.
It is a small, single-centre study, but it lines up with what many of us see every day. Gentle dog interactions can lower stress and shift how the brain reads pain signals. That does not replace medical care, but it is a nice reminder of the good our dogs can do.
If you are curious, the study is listed on PubMed here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40293835/
Have a story about your dog bringing calm when it mattered? Comment below and tell us. We love sharing real wins with our community.
When dogs are calm, they are happy and live their best lives. With reduced stress, they get sick less often and are more able to enjoy the little things in life. Like stretching out on the couch, or sniffing grass. To help support your dog in enjoying a calm life, we recommend AC for Dogs.