The Healing Power of Animals — Including a Certain Rooster Named Kiwi

Do you ever think about the role animals play in your health and well-being?

As it turns out, a substantial body of research has linked positive interactions with animals—most often dogs, cats, and horses, but other companion animals as well—with reduced physiological stress, improved mood, and, in some studies, lower blood pressure and heart rate.

One particularly interesting finding involves cortisol, one of the hormones involved in our body's stress response. When we perceive a threat or experience stress, our adrenal glands release cortisol, helping make energy available and keeping us alert and ready to respond. That can be extremely useful if we're running a race or walking through an unfamiliar area at night. But when the body's stress-response system remains activated too often or for too long, it can interfere with processes such as sleep, digestion, immune function, and emotional regulation.

That's one reason researchers are interested in the finding that positive interactions with animals can sometimes lower cortisol levels. Spending time with an animal—petting one, walking or riding one, playing together, or simply sitting quietly in one another's company—can be more than enjoyable. For many people, it can be a meaningful source of comfort and stress relief.

Researchers have also examined the relationship between human-animal interaction and oxytocin, a chemical messenger involved in social bonding, attachment, and caregiving. Some studies have found changes in oxytocin associated with positive interactions between people and animals, suggesting one possible biological pathway through which these relationships can contribute to feelings of connection and calm.

And you don't necessarily need to have a pet of your own to enjoy spending time with animals. You might volunteer at an animal shelter, visit a friend or neighbor's pet, or find another safe and humane opportunity to interact with animals. One wonderful local option is the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter in Alexandria, Virginia, where visitors and volunteers can interact with animals in a variety of ways. The shelter has even offered programs in which children and adults read to shelter animals—a lovely way for animals and humans to spend some quiet time together.

And it isn't only the usual suspects who can bring comfort.

In my own therapy practice, both my patients and I have experienced the pleasure—and sometimes the calming effect—of interacting with my chickens.

Meet Kiwi, my practice rooster.

Kiwi is a one-year-old Ameraucana, a breed often described by chicken keepers as curious, personable, and occasionally a little spicy. When I first got Kiwi, he was a tiny yellow chick, and the farmers' cooperative told me he was female. He was an adorable little creature who liked sitting on my lap and even seemed perfectly content watching TV with me.

Then, at about six months old, Kiwi let out a high-pitched crow.

Around the same time, I noticed his increasingly dramatic, curved tail feathers. It began to dawn on me that Kiwi might not be a hen after all.

For a while, he lived peacefully with the hens and another rooster on our farm. Eventually, though, the roosters began to fight, and Kiwi needed different accommodations. He took up residence in and around my cabin office, where he gradually assumed a new role.

Kiwi began greeting familiar patients on the walkway, sometimes performing a little welcome dance and crowing to announce their arrival. He definitely has a favorite person or two. And at times, having him nearby during a session—or spending a few minutes with him outside on the porch—can help someone feel grounded and present while talking about something difficult.

Chickens haven't been studied nearly as extensively as dogs, cats, or horses in research on human-animal relationships. But what scientists have learned about them is fascinating. Chickens are highly social animals capable of recognizing individuals, learning from experience, communicating with one another, and developing preferences about the humans who handle them. Recent research also suggests that gentle human contact can acquire a positive, rewarding quality for young chickens—not merely make them less frightened of people.

That doesn't mean we can say that cuddling a rooster lowers human cortisol or increases oxytocin; as far as we know, nobody has done that particular experiment yet. But anyone who has formed a relationship with an unconventional companion animal knows that meaningful human-animal relationships aren't limited to dogs and cats.

So whether it's coming here and saying hello to Kiwi and the other chickens, volunteering with shelter animals, walking a friend's dog, or simply finding your own humane way of spending time with animals, consider making a little room for animal companionship in your life.

You might be surprised by how good it feels.