Naomi Judd Shines a Spotlight on Therapy Dog Study

During her days as one half of The Judds she climbed to the top of the charts with hits like “Love is Alive” and “Love Can Build a Bridge,” but on May 8th country music icon Naomi Judd was singing the praises of animal-assisted therapy as she joined the American Humane Association, scientists, researchers and four therapy dog teams on Capitol Hill to shine a spotlight on the Canines and Childhood Cancer Study.

Taking place over the course of 14 months, the full clinical trial will document the beneficial effects–both physical and psychological– of animal-assisted therapy not only on young oncology patients, but also on the children’s families and the therapy dogs themselves.

The five hospitals taking part in the study, which will include weekly, 20-minute-long visits from the therapy dogs, are:

• St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Tampa, FL
• Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel in Portland, OR
• UC Davis Children’s Hospital in Sacramento, CA
• UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center/Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts in Worcester/North Grafton, MA
• Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN

For more information:

• visit www.americanhumane.org/interaction/programs/animal-assisted-therapy/canines-and-childhood-cancer.html

Country star Naomi Judd with @AmericanHumane @weatherchannel therapy dog Butler and Amy! #BKTA99 #caninesincongress pic.twitter.com/aonc8fMdtk

— American Humane (@AmericanHumane) May 8, 2014

Photo Credit: Twitter/American Humane Association