News Health & Medicine

Therapy dogs can ease young patients’ anxiety in the emergency room

Children who spent time with the dogs reported a larger drop in anxiety than those who didn’t

A girl, wearing patient attire, on a hospital bed pets a therapy dog. The girls' mother is sitting behind her smiling at the dog.

Time with a therapy dog can reduce kids’ anxiety while in the emergency department, a clinical trial reports.

Isaac Lane Koval/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images Plus

By Aimee Cunningham

About 10 minutes with a therapy dog soothed kids who felt anxious about being emergency room patients.

A clinical trial found that after spending time with a dog, young patients reported a significantly larger decrease in their anxiety than kids who didn’t have dog time.