Harmonies of Creation part THREE

Modern literature on the topic of co-dependence and the human-animal connection is prolific. Both fictional stories, such as fairytale and children’s books, and scientific studies have focused on the bond for decades. Writing from a strictly scientific perspective, researchers at a psychiatric detention facility in Canada recognize the intrinsic benefits of the human animal bond (Smith et al. 2023). These researchers recognized certain undesirable behaviors and thought processes exhibited by the detainees, like isolation, loneliness, and hopelessness. To mitigate these feelings, the researchers introduced animal-assisted therapy. Animal assisted therapy is defined as “the therapeutic use of pets to enhance individuals’ physical, social, emotional, or cognitive functioning” (APA, "Animal-Assisted Therapy"). The researchers found that the animals greatly reduced the prisoners’ undesirable feelings, which is critical for the healing process of those detained.

Additional studies on the human-animal connection include the 2008 Healing Power of the Human-Animal Connection study by Margo Halm. Halm compiled evidence and information from current studies focused on the work of Animal Assisted Therapy programs in hospitals and other medical facilities. As a result of her research, Halm concludes,

Effects of AAT are primarily attributed to ‘contact comfort,’ a tactile process whereby unconditional attachment bonds form between animals and humans, inducing relaxation by reducing cardiovascular reactivity to stress. Social support theory provides additional backing that animal companionship helps humans buffer stress.

This finding is important because it shows that the simple presence of an animal can influence the physical, emotional and mental well-being of a person in a medical facility. Sometimes the change is such that no medication could ever duplicate the effects.

Several authors including, Craig Childs, author of Animal Dialogues, and Richard Louv, author of Our Wild Calling, write about their experiences in the wild, outlining various interactions with creatures in their natural habitat. Richard Louv also incorporates stories of domestic animals, like his childhood dog Banner, to portray how animals affect the humans they live with. Throughout his book Louv ponders the bond between humans and animals as he leads the reader on a winding tale through nooks and crannies, while still exploring the unfathomable vastness of the connection. When speaking of the connection, Louv poetically states,

Our lives are poems. As are theirs. We write them together. In the habitat of the heart – in that whisper of recognition between two beings when time seems to stop, when space assumes a different shape – in that moment, we sense a shared soul. That is what connects the woman and the bear, the diver and the octopus, the dog and the child, the boy and the jaguar, the fisherman and the golden eagles on the shore (273).

Louv beautifully captures the essence of the human-animal bond from a poet’s philosophical imaginings. Just like an artist tries to capture the beauty of a mountain scene with only a two inch brush, sometimes only such vague ideas can even attempt to capture creation’s intricacies. However, studies like those performed by the Canadian researchers and Halm provide us with a glimpse of the details in that vast world.

How can we ever fathom the wonders of the human animal connection? We can describe a portion of it’s beauty in poetry and fiction. We can study and document a snapshot of it’s effects though scientific research. But we can never fully understand the connection because it is too vast for us. As king David writes, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand” (Psalm 139.6)! Some things in creation are just too great for us to fully understand, but we can still stand in awe of what we see. Creation spins in harmony, twirling in an intricate dance showcasing thoughtful design and wisdom of planning.

It is an amazing phenomenon when something that touches the hearts of small children can also fascinate professional, research-driven scientists. Small children are often gifted stuffed animals to snuggle and care for. As we age, we may have the opportunity to care for a living creature, be it fish, guinea pig, horse, puppy, or kitten. Adults very often see their critters as their kids (Cryer, 2021). Whether God understood the extent and impact of the human-animal connection when he was creating us remains a mystery. But then, are the great mysteries of this world not the most enjoyable to ponder?

Review of Literature

Works Cited

“Animal-assisted therapy.” Dictionary.apa.org. American Psychological Association, 2018. Web. 20 July 2025.

Childs, Craig. The Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild. Little, Brown, and Co., New York, 2007.

Cryer, Stephanie, et al. “Pawsitive Connections: The Role of Pet Support Programs and Pets on the Elderly.” Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, vol. 42, Feb. 2021, p. 101298. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2020.101298.

Halm, Margo A. “The Healing Power of the Human-Animal Connection.” American Journal of Critical Care, vol. 17, no. 4, July 2008, pp. 373–76. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.4037/ajcc2008.17.4.373.

Louv, Richard. Our Wild Calling: How Connecting With Animals Can Transform Our Lives – and Save Theirs. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2019.

Smith, Sonia, et al. “Case Report: A Community Case Study of the Human-Animal Bond in Animal-Assisted Therapy: The Experiences of Psychiatric Prisoners with Therapy Dogs.” Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 14, Sept. 2023, p. 1219305. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1219305.

Kylee's Note - Project #3 Blended Essay

Genre - Review of Literature + Genre - Reflection

The formatting is not proper MLA. My website builder does not allow for such things as block quotations or even indented first lines. Same thing with the works cited - no hanging indents. I will be arguing with this more because I know I have got to be missing something. I did, however, fix the MLA in-text citations.

This is were science meets the poetry. This review of literature includes not only books that show the poetic beauty of the connection, but also scholarly articles describing research conducted on the connection. This is important for potential clients to understand. This connection that sounds so vague and intangible is actually studied by scientist all over the world. Every story has multiple perspectives, and each idea will be thought in a different way. This is what makes our world whole, balanced, and yet so wonderfully varied.