When you think about a therapy animal, chances are you picture a dog. After all, dogs are perceived as people pleasers while cats … not so much.
“I think there’s a perception that cats aren’t suitable for these kinds of animal-assisted interventions, that cats are picky, that they don’t enjoy people. I don’t think that’s true at all,” said Patricia Pendry, Ph.D., a professor at the Washington State University Department of Human Development.
She looked at programs that universities offer students, like “Pet Your Stress Away,” and found 85% offered interaction only with dogs.
She wondered if some people would prefer cats.
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