Petting helps you beat stress

Gachibowli: Pet therapy or Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) has gained popularity in the city recently. Animals, primarily dogs and horses, help you relieve your stress and depression and get you on your feet.

Thanks to these four-legged furry new-age therapists from Happy Dogs' Kennel in Khanpu Gachibowli, one can visit the kennel not only to get rid of depression, but also to deal with work pressure and other disorders. The animals can as well warm up children who are slow learners.

"It is scientifically proven that animals have the ability to set off several hormones like serotonin, endorphins and so on. This creates a feeling of positivity, amidst individuals who are stressed from their daily hectic schedule or those who are undergoing therapy," says J Anand, the founder and owner of the kennel.

"All our guests who visit the kennel go back with a smile on their faces," he adds. The kennel was first established in August 2014, with an intention to train and board dogs. Started with over 30 dogs, the kennel now has around 110 to 150 dogs of different breeds.

They are all well trained and friendly. With a price of around Rs 500 per session, one can visit the kennel and spend time with these furries for two-and-a-half hours.

Anand and his furry friends also give awareness programme to all the schools, colleges, and corporate offices where one can visit and play with the dogs and puppies, as a stress buster also to educate them about dog behavior, dog breeds and how one should behave with them.

Currently, Anand is training two dogs to work as service dogs that can help people with disabilities, such as visual impairment, hearing impairment, mental illness (like post traumatic stress disorder), seizures, mobility impairment and diabetes.