The Start of Something New

Hello!

My name is Amber Acklin, and I am a third semester Honors in Nursing student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The first and second semesters of the Honors Program introduced us to basic terminology, concepts, and theories. The third semester is very special in that we finally get to implement our chosen service learning projects. My chosen topic is the effects that Animal-Assisted Therapy has on the human condition throughout the aging spectrum. By human condition, I mean any disease that effects the health of humans, such as diseases with psychological, physiological, or sociological origins. 

Why am I so interested in this topic? Well, I have been an animal lover since I can remember. I've grown up with many different animals ranging from dogs, to rabbits, to guinea pigs, and etc. I remember many times as I grew up that my bad days were quickly turned around when I interacted with an animal. For example, one day in middle school, absolutely nothing was going the way I planned. Everything went sour that day, and on the way home, I just wanted to immediately get in my bed. However, as I walked in the door, I was greeted by my mother's Maltese-Pomeranian mix looking up at me with those big, brown, beautiful eyes. How could I say no to those eyes? So I thought..."A couple of strokes and off to bed I go." As I was petting her, she would gently lick my hand and look me dead in my eyes as if to say don't worry, Amber. There are better days to come, and instead of feeling miserable and going to bed, I was content and decided to stay up and enjoy the rest of my day. Many instances similar to this followed, but this particular one was the first realization of what immense power animals actually held over humans. 

So...here I am. The partner that I will be working with for this semester is a non-profit animal-assisted therapy organization known as Hand In Paw. I am so excited! Hand In Paw works at various facilities throughout Central Alabama to "improve the health and well-being of children and adults by serving those with physical, emotional, educational, or psychological needs through interactions with professionally-trained Animal-Assisted Therapy Teams." Their mission statement encompasses everything I plan to get out of my experience in a nutshell.

Having said that, I actually met some of the therapy teams at Hand In Paw's annual fundraiser, Picasso Pets, which was held August 18th. It is an event where paintings are auctioned created by the animals and professional artists. The picture below (on left) is one of the many gorgeous paintings that were auctioned at this years event. I volunteered and was deemed a designated greeter. The event was an absolute success! It was very nice and very well organized. Not to mention, the therapy teams that I got a pleasure of meeting were awesome!  

 I go for orientation at Hand In Paw in two weeks, and I look forward to my semester with these wonderful teams and experiencing first-hand the difference that they make in people's lives everyday. This is definitely "The Start of Something New!"