Doing, being, becoming and belonging….the multi-dimensions of owning Fido.

I never knew that Fido was actually the name of Abraham Lincoln’s dog; apparently he died not long after Lincoln was assassinated. I have always been fortunate to have animals in my life (images 1-6), so I was ecstatic to gain my first placement in an area where dogs were involved. My supervisor had a trained therapy dog who not only visited rest homes in the area (image 19) with clients but was also a seizure alert dog (image 17), who could give her up to 30 minutes warning of an impending epileptic attack. We also had a community client who was in the process of training his pet dog towards mobility assistance certification (images 12-14). I couldn’t have asked for a better first placement really.

The occupation of dog ownership encompasses more than the act of just owning a dog, it can be expressed through other things such as a reason to keep busy, having something to wake up for, exploring new activities and contributing to others (Hammell, 2004). Looking at the images we can see people engaging in activities such as dog agility (slide 7), dog sled racing (slide 8), canine freestyle dancing (slide 9) and the search and rescue team from the Christchurch earthquake (slide 10). All these activities provide the owners with a sense of enjoyment, purpose and fulfilment. This leads to an increased sense of self-worth, capability and respectability.

Being is harder to define as it has a more philosophical flavour, it is simply experiencing life and the environment around us. In my experience no other animal knows the joy of just being than a dog, unlike humans. This is Joshua Bell, one of the world’s greatest violin players…how many people do you think stopped to listen to him play at a busy Metro stop? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw).The joy of dogs however is that they are able to share their ‘being’ (slide 11,12 & 13), its scientifically proven that for most people petting an animal reduces blood pressure and can alleviate depression.

Becoming explores the idea of how people envisage themselves in the future, what possible lives they may have and how their lives might be experienced as worthwhile (Hammell, 2003). For people with impairments owning a dog who can assist them with activities in daily living, becoming involves a sense of independence that they would not have without their canine companion (14,15,16& 17).

As humans perhaps the most important term as social beings is belonging. Rebeiro et al. (2001) describes this as the necessary contribution of social interaction, mutual support and friendship, the desire to be included. For children with autism, some respond first verbally to animals before humans (image 18). In some schools programs have been developed where children struggling to read are encouraged to read to therapy dogs, a fun, comforting and non-judgmental way to enhance learning (image 19). And finally the local dog park provides just as much social opportunity for the dogs as it does for their owners (image 20).


When posting photos on-line there are a few ethical considerations. I was aware that posting my own personal photos would mean they would be accessible to anyone who used the internet worldwide, so I made sure that I was happy with this personally. My other photos came from sites such as www.flickr.com and newspaper articles where I knew that consent would have been made prior to images being posted. I made sure to reference each photo to ensure authenticity and did not include any photos that may be offensive to people. 

As Occupational Therapists I don’t think we have even begun to touch the surface of what the animal world can do for humans, both through biomimicry and therapeutic applications. I will leave you with what I hope to achieve in New Zealand when I graduate (http://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2011/10/11/3336788.htm)

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References for photos:
First photos 1-6 are own personal photos.
Photo 7: Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/5962425/Corgis-compete-to-be-top-dog
Photo 8 : Retrieved fromhttp://www.odt.co.nz/your-town/wanaka/20819/no-time-paws-dogged-effort-needed
Photo 9: Retrieved from http://julieannamos.hubpages.com/hub/Doggy-Dancing-Canine-Freestyle
Photo 10: Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/4925431/Canine-heroes-to-be-recognised
Photo 11: http://www.flickr.com/photos/childrensla/5039177921/
Photo 12: http://4petsonline.com/pet-therapy/
Photo 13: http://www.healthyfellow.com/289/animal-assisted-therapy/
Photo 14: http://servicedogssite.com/?attachment_id=81
Photo 15 and 16: http://www.spinal-injury.net/assistance-dog-
tasks.htm
Photo 17: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/round-the-clock-help-a-bark-away/story-e6frf7jo-1225711570470
Photo 18: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/good_dogs_PEwwznLJygkcHNBTDdu0OK
Photo 19: http://blog.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/2008/02/boydog.JPG
Photo 20: http://www.auntkitpetnanny.com/2011/04/el-paso-county-dog-park-etiquette/