In September 1956, LIFE photographer Francis Miller visited the children at the University Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to document the hospital’s animal therapy program, which had already been in operation for over 30 years. At the time, the hospital treated about 3,000 children every year, and the staff operated a “perpetual animal show” to help ease their pain and anxiety.
Today, animal-assisted therapy is common in hospitals, nursing homes, rehab clinics and other places where the pain and solitude that so often come with illness and the stress associated with recovering from injuries or sickness can be almost paralyzing. Whether or not spending time with animals can actually help spark long-lasting improvements in mental health is an open, and controversial, question. But anecdotal evidence suggests that patients offered the opportunity to play with and otherwise interact with animals appear to be more optimistic about their prospects for recovery, while certain animals (especially social animals, like dogs) can often help decrease the sense of isolation and loneliness that so often plagues those stuck in hospitals for long periods of time.
As LIFE noted, “for hurrying a child out of the sickbed, the Ann Arbor hospital has found that nothing can match a youngster’s natural fascination with animals.”
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
Vintage Photographs of Children and Animals at a Hospital in Michigan That Encourage Therapy Through Animals
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