Fw: Taiwan scheme trains stray dogs for therapy

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by Lawrence Chung

TAIPEI - Animal lovers in Taiwan have launched a drive to promote the use of

stray dogs as therapeutic pets in a bid to stop their widespread destruction

through inhumane ways such as clubbing, electrocution, drowning, starvation

or burying while alive.

 

Campaigners hope the drive can help Taiwan, long criticised by international

animal-rights activists for its brutal treatment of strays, get rid of its

reputation as a hell on earth for stray dogs and improve its image in the

eyes of the world.

 

Several dozen stray dogs were recently recruited for Taiwan's Dr Dog

Programme, introduced in late 1999 through Hongkong's Animals Asia

Foundation (AAF), which specialises in animal-assisted therapy programmes

for people suffering from physiological or psychological problems.

 

'I was shocked to see so many dogs abandoned on the streets and maltreated

when I returned to Taiwan from the United States in 1994,' said Ms Shirley

Chen, president of the Formosa Animal-assisted Activity and Therapy

Association (Faata) and founder of the programme.

 

She could not bear seeing all the strays left uncared for or, worse,

suffering painful deaths at the dog pounds. So she decided to bring them

home. But this did not help improve the situation.

 

'When I got almost desperate, the AAF was looking for someone in Taiwan to

start the animal-assisted therapy programme,' she said.

 

She later went to the US to attend training courses on therapeutic and the

service roles of animals in human health. She eventually started the Faata

last year.

 

Together with the AAF, she managed to get the help of the Taipei city

government in recruiting stray dogs for the Dr Dog Programme.

 

The performance of the stray dogs in the scheme has been described as a

'pleasant surprise', and the reception to them has been warm in various

nursing homes and hospitals. This showed that 'the project to recruit the

street animals is a right move', said campaign promoters.

 

'Stray dogs which have been re-adopted tend to be more understanding and

loyal to their new owners. They can also easily get along with others in a

strange environment compared with other pet dogs, making them highly

adaptable to the Dr Dog Programme,' said veterinarian Lu Chieh-sheng.

 

Ms Chen Mei-ju, head nurse of Hang An Nursing Home for Senior Citizens, said

the therapy dogs make magic with the elderly, helping them to laugh and

interact with others again.

 

'Most importantly, the dogs help increase the residents' mobility,' she

said.

 

Medical institutions in Taiwan that have taken part in the programme have

also reported a marked reduction in the stress levels of patients - both

young and old - suffering from either physiological or psychological

problems.

 

Of the 40 licensed Dr Dogs that have done a 10-week obedience training

course, passed two tests and undergone an eight-hour internship, 80 per cent

were once strays.

 

'Stray dogs are not trash to be disposed of at will. They can be valuable

resources if they are trained,' said Ms Chen.