Here's a report PET+BLOGSPOT found only recently written by the Malaysian Association of the Blind in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, regarding our very first animal-assisted therapy outing to the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia or FRIM in Kepong, Selangor: "PETPOSITIVE WORKSHOP AT FRIM: MAB was happy to be able to join in with various NGO’s and animal lovers to participate in a very unique and first ever workshop on animal therapy and love of nature and the environment.
The workshop was held at the new extended open area of FRIM on October 30, 2007. All the
different disabled categories were in attendance and so were quite a number of animals, including dogs, cats, a rabbit, a tortoise and even a few frogs.
For the first part of the workshop, the disabled and volunteers together with their animals had
a very pleasant walk through a jungle track. The paved road made it easy to walk and there were railings to help the wheelchair-users.
The walk is named after the former director of FRIM and it is called the Razak walk. Along the way we were able to see and touch all sorts of exotic plants which had been collected from all over Malaysia in order to save them from extinction.
Back at the workshop, we had a discussion on how to make the Razak path more accessible to the disabled. We then had a look at five kinds of frogs caught from the jungle in the night and which were released after the workshop.
Towards the end of the workshop, we were astounded to learn that not only dogs and cats but, in fact, all kinds of animals could be used in helping to bring about healing to a person. The animals could be even a rabbit, a lizard, a snake, a tortoise or a fish.
We were informed by the President of Petpositive, En. Anthony Sivabalan, that any disabled
person who is in need of an animal could email him at athanasayan@yahoo.com.
End
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