the healing power of dogs
Chronic pain is a part of this Irish TV star’s life, but healing comes as she works with dogs. And through her volunteer work, she has also helped dogs who are in desperate situations.
Andrea Hayes, presenter of “Dog Tales” on TV3 in Dublin, Ireland, has lived with debilitating back pain for 20 years, according to the Irish Mirror.
According to the Irish Mirror, Hayes has Chiari malformation 1, spinal stenosis and Pots (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.) Working with rescue dogs with the ISPCA and Dogs Trust, the newspaper said, “has had a ‘cathartic’ effect on her.”
Without daily medication and stints in the hospital every two weeks for pain relief, Hayes would not be able to function, the newspaper said. She told the Irish Mirror that she also gets “radio oblation injections which burn off a bit of the nerves in the back. If I didn’t get these treatments I wouldn’t be able to cope.”
In 2016, Hayes’ book, “Pain Free Life: My Journey to Wellness,” was published. In it she tells how she developed “her own pain-control programme after years of chronic pain,” according to the newspaper. In the book she discusses how becoming a vegetarian, meditating, visualizing and having a positive mental outlook have helped heal her pain. Hayes, who is also a clinical hypnotherapist, has a new book called “Dog Tales.” In the book, “she explores the science behind animals and healing,” according to the Irish Mirror.
Dogs and Healing
Dogs have brought her tremendous healing, she said. “I still have all the conditions, but when I’m working with animals I go into this sacred place,” she said in the article.
“When you look into the eyes of a dog, oxytocin, known as the cuddle chemical, is released, and the same hormone is released when you give birth for the first time and look at your child,” she explained.
She also told the newspaper that she “started to explore the link that dogs can really lower your heart rate” and discovered that “there are great health benefits like rubbing a dog releases stress as certain hormones are released.”
Her book “Dog Tales” discusses “much of what’s on the TV3 show of the same name, going into puppy farms, and 13 individual stories of rescue dogs that rescued their owners right back,” according to the Mirror. It also reveals how dogs and people have helped each other.
She said, “I’ve seen rescue animals that have been really sick absolutely thrive through love and rehabilitation.” How they changed their owners’ lives “is incredible, and I had to ask myself who rescued who because animals are so nurturing and healing.”
In story after story, she said in the article, “there were incredible transformation stories, how dogs have helped children and lonely and sick people.”
Read more about her volunteer work with dogs and how their healing power has changed her life.
