VOA健康报道2024--Woman, Cat Help Others through Therapy

Woman, Cat Help Others through Therapy

Every day Juanita Mengel, a 67-year-old woman from the state of Ohio, wakes up and puts on her manufactured leg. The device is called a prosthetic.

Then, Mengel does the same for Lola-Pearl, her colorful five-year-old cat. Lola-Pearl is missing her back left leg.

Mengel has many cats. Most of them have disabilities. But Lola-Pearl is special. She is a therapy cat. And, she and Mengel are partners of a kind. They are among 200 therapy cat teams registered in the United States by the nonprofit group, Pet Partners.

The group helps humans and pets alike by setting them up into teams to provide animal-assisted intervention¹. The teams visit hospitals, nursing homes and schools and assist those in need.

Taylor Chastain Griffin is national director of animal-assisted interventions² at Pet Partners. She said, "A therapy animal is an animal who's been assessed based on their ability to meet new people and not just tolerate the interaction, but actively³ enjoy it."

Chastain Griffin is a researcher who studies the effects of therapy cats. She said there needs to be more research done in cat therapy. She said that there is a lot of research on other therapy animals like dogs, and many people are surprised to learn that cats can be therapy animals too.

"They go into a setting and people are like, 'Whoa, there's a cat on a leash⁴. What's happening? It kind of inspires people to connect in a way we haven't traditionally heard talked about in other therapy animal interventions," Chastain Griffin said.

Besides dogs and cats, Pet Partners registers seven other species as therapy animals, including horses, rabbits, rats, guinea pigs, birds, mini pigs, and llamas and alpacas.

Mengel said Lola-Pearl showed signs that she would make a good therapy cat soon after the animal joined her family. Mengel took her new cat to a meeting for amputees.

"She was so good with people I just knew she would be a good therapy cat. People really were attracted to her, too," Mengel said.

Recently people who attended a support group for amputees were able to meet Lola-Pearl. They petted her as she woke up from a rest. On the side of the cat carrier she rode in was a sign: "Therapy Cat" it read.

Mengel was a traveling nurse when she was in a car accident that almost killed her. One of her legs could not be saved.

Later, she connected with a friend in the state of Missouri who had a severely⁵ injured kitten. Her legs were twisted together. An animal medical specialist worked to repair the damage but, in the end, they had to remove one of the baby cat's legs.

That kitten was Lola-Pearl.

Mengel took Lola-Pearl as her cat after talking with her friend. Despite the difficulties Mengel has faced, she is thankful for Lola-Pearl and their work together.

"It's a really rewarding experience," she said, "I get just as much out of it as the people that I visit."

Words in This Story

therapy – n. the treatment of physical or mental illnesses

assess – v. to make a judgement about a person or a thing

tolerate – v. to permit something to happen; to be able to bear the results of something

impact – n. a powerful or major influence or effect

leash – n. a long, thin piece of rope, chain, etc., that is used for holding a dog or other animal

inspire – v. to make someone want to do something

amputee – n. a person who has had an arm or leg cut off

limb – n. a leg or arm

twisted — v. to bend or turn in order to change its shape

1 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

2 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

3 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

4 leash   

n.牵狗的皮带，束缚；v.用皮带系住

参考例句：

• I reached for the leash,but the dog got in between.我伸手去拿系狗绳，但被狗挡住了路。
• The dog strains at the leash,eager to be off.狗拼命地扯拉皮带，想挣脱开去。

5 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。