Prescription for Nature

PRESCRIPTION FOR NATURE

Wednesday, April 18, 2007 (Napanee Beaver)

Friday, April 20, 2007 (Picton Gazette)

Less than a month ago, I learned through the proverbial rumour mill that I was doing a great disservice to our dogs by feeding them something other than commercially prepared “unregulated” dog food. My only comment in the face of the recent commercial dog food scare would be, “Yeah, right!

For as many years as I can remember, my late mother always prepared the food for our dogs, on the kitchen counter, as she would for her family, for the dogs were always considered members of the family. So, why not accord them the same attention to detail? Even today, I follow the same tried and proven custom of preparing the food for our pets, taking considerable time mixing up batches of lean hamburger and adding the appropriate amounts of pasta, cooked carrots, peas and celery to come up with a balanced blend of meat, vegetables and starches. Let’s not forget to add an egg and a dash of garlic! With the exception of one dog, every canine that we ever owned lived to the age of 16 years. A pint sized Chihuahua we once owned even lived to the age of 18, an incredible age for such a tiny animal, and she managed it without commercially prepared dog food ever tainting her lips. Obviously, we have been doing something right for more than 50 years, and I would never buy commercially prepared dog food that is unregulated on a dare ! .

The point I am making, is that the majority of us, who own pets, treat them as members of the family, responsibly keeping them under control, and caring for them during the short time they are with us. During that time, pets provide their owners with companionship and contribute immeasurably to our physical and mental well-being. When they die, we go through a mourning process, as we would for any family member.

It has been well documented that aquariums, for example, are soothing to us, and watching fish swim around in our living rooms relaxes us after a difficult day, as we admire this placid and more natural world before our eyes. It is not uncommon to find aquaria in medical waiting rooms, schools, offices and restaurants.

Dogs and cats are often welcomed and taken into extended care facilities to cheer up the elderly. I well remember my late mother who spent the last few months of her life at Picton Manor, one day being totally unresponsive to us when we came to visit. However, as soon as her heavy eyes caught sight of my sheltie/terrier, she came wide awake and stretched out her arms to welcome the dog. Our pet did something in a few seconds, that members of her own family were unable to do in the 30 minutes we were with her.

It would be pointless to go on an on, listing examples of the calming effect that certain pets and wildlife have on humans. We see examples all around us from nature themed computer screen savers to sounds of nature recordings. That it works, and has for some centuries, is well documented. Even trees have proven beneficial to health, with people recovering faster from illnesses and surgery if they have views or access to trees, or nature in general. An acquaintance of mine, who tragically became a quadriplegic in her teen years, lived to a considerable age while doing little else but watching nature unfold through her bedroom window. She dictated a column on her observations to her caregiver, which appeared in a popular American nature newspaper for much of her life, and she subsequently became very informed about the natural world as seen through her window.

There is lots of evidence that nature can be nurturing, aesthetically pleasing, physically invigorating, and able to stimulate the thought process. When my brain grinds to a halt at the computer screen some days, one look out my window at the plethora of birds at my feeders, jump starts it into action again. “Nature,” says author John L. Swanson in his book ‘Prescribing Nature,’ is like going home to your roots. “Thousands of tired, nerve shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity, and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of lumber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”

The author goes on to emphasize that, while nature is not meant to be a substitute for therapy, it can be a supplemental resource that supports the process. Nature, he points out, can be a source of solace for those struggling with the pain of loss, as illustrated by the widespread custom of giving flowers to the bereaved.

Domestic dogs and cats, and all manner of pets, right down to the occasional bizarre choices, while not nature in its wildest sense, do offer the same therapeutic values. And fortunate is the person who has both a pet and a love of the outdoors, and there are many, for they will live much longer, richer lives, than those who don’t understand the role animals can play in their lives, spending their lifetime trying to either control it or destroy it. Walking a dog in the early morning hours while it is barely light, and the sounds of nature are all around us, allows me to ponder these things in the hour that we are together. And I guess in the final scheme of things, it also made this week’s column!