Pet Therapy as a Nonpharmacological Treatment Option for Neurological Disorders: A Review of the Literature

Animal therapy and ownership have been studied as a nonpharmacologic treatment option for cardiovascular and psychological disorders. Animal companionship is less studied in neurological disorders such as stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, epilepsy, and acute brain injury. This review examines the effects that emotional support dogs, dog therapy, or dog ownership has on these specific neurological disorders. It may serve as a nonpharmaceutical option to improve patient symptoms, quality of life, or the disease course itself. Articles were gathered which studied the effect of animal-assisted therapy, pet therapy, dog ownership, and physical activity on neurological disorders. Studies relating to the topic were then assessed for the impact on neurological disorders which ranged from cognition, mobility, quality of life, mood, and improvement of disease course. Dog therapy and ownership were found to improve mood, quality of life, and disease symptoms across multiple neurological disorders. It also encouraged physical activity which was shown to help many diseases studied, even ones associated with skeletal muscle apoptosis, such as Huntington’s disease. Dog therapy and ownership are a safe and effective nonpharmaceutical approach to treating chronic and progressive neurological disorders.