Move Over Dogs, Animal Therapy Is For Mini Horses Too!
December 8, 2014
Hospital staff did double-takes watching a pair of miniature horses trotting down the hallways in the pediatric unit at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center.
Credit: M. SPENCER GREEN/AP
Mystery and Lunar are equines on a mission to offer "animal therapy" for ailing patients, teaching us that it's not just a job for dogs anymore.
Mini horses add an extra element of delight – many kids don't even know they exist!
Credit: ManeInHeaven.org
The horses, along with two others, belong to the animal-assisted therapy group Mane in Heaven, based out of Chicago. They visit nursing homes and centers for the disabled, but this visit marks their first-ever inside a hospital.
Credit: ManeInHeaven.org
"We have long had animal-assisted therapy here at Rush and just seen the enormous benefits that animals can have on most children – just the joy that they bring, the unconditional love," said Robyn Hart, the hospital's director of child life services.
"The horses were a smashing success," Hart added. "We're looking forward to having them visit monthly."
(H/T) PeoplePets.com. Learn more at Mane in Heaven.
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