Interacting with animals seems to provide emotional support to young people with a serious illness, even when the contact is via letters and not face to face
By Christa Lesté-Lasserre
23 September 2024
A drawing by a child who took part in the animal pen pal scheme
Courtesy of YAPS and Anne Gillespie
Seriously ill children and teenagers appear to get emotional benefits from exchanging letters with cats and dogs affected by cancer.
The interspecies pen pal programme allows young people facing cancer and blood disorders to bond with animals going through similar challenges, whose owners write letters on their behalf.
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“There is something just so unconditional about the love of an animal and the listening that an animal can provide,” says Anne Ingalls Gillespie at the University of Colorado, a former paediatric nurse. “They don’t argue, they don’t question; they just listen and validate.”
Animal-assisted interventions – in which patients spend time with trained dogs, cats and horses – have previously been found to offer emotional and mental health benefits for young cancer patients.
However, some cancer patients are so immunocompromised doctors forbid them from coming into contact with animals. Eager to find a solution for her young patients, Gillepsie designed a pen pal programme called Youth and Pet Survivors in which children and teenagers correspond with animals via letters.