Animal Chaplaincy Has Become A Growing Profession

Feeding the raccoons in Montreal’s Mount Royal Park was a tourist activity promoted by websites and supported by park vendors selling cat food. When the result was overpopulation of raccoons unafraid of people, steps were taken to protect the raccoons including banning vendors and educating tourists about their impact.

Virtual reality is being used as part of medical education providing a way for nurses and other medical workers to better understand how a patient may experiencing their surroundings. Virtual reality modules have been created for blind, colorblind, dementia, and dying patients.

In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, where more bears and more people are increasingly occupying the same general space, the Montana Bear Education Working Group is prepared. By holding workshops and events to teach locals how to interact with bears, carry bear spray, and adopt habits to minimize potential conflict, the group reached over 20,000 people last year and continues to educate more people.

In the wake of more than 100 forest fires in Maule, Chile, hundreds of burned acres of forest are being replanted by three Border Collies named Das, Olivia, and Summer and an organization called Pewos. The dogs bound through miles of terrain with special backpacks that release native seeds to regrow the area. So far the dogs have worked in 15 forests in the region and plants are starting to come back.

Dementia units and long-term care homes for the elderly are often desolate and lonely places, with harried workers attempting to meet the needs of their patients while also meeting government-set metrics of success. For families and individuals, it can be difficult to imagine a better way. However, a pilot program in Canada called the Butterfly room is showing that dedicated efforts to making long-term care homes a vibrant and loving place for someone's last days has positive impacts for everyone - and is worth a government investment do right across the country.

New York City is home to an estimated tens of thousands of stray and feral cats, posing a problem for the city. To humanely handle this population concern, the city is using a method known as Trap-Neuter-Return (T.N.R.) that goes against the previous methods of euthanasia.

An initiative on the Moscow metro system has posters on the train featuring cats and dogs that are looking for a home. Known as the “Tails and Paws” train, these animals come from 13 animal shelters in the city and riders can use their phone to scan the poster to learn more about the animals up for adoption. “It’s about forming a new culture of responsible attitude to animals,” says one of the workers at a shelter.

A public hearse, donated by a National Assembly member, helps around three families a day carry their deceased relatives to burial grounds. The minivan, with no seats and a siren on top, has had a profound effect in the area, which is often dealing with disease and occasional armed conflict. Previously, families carried bodies on foot or strapped to a motorcycle, and often had to pay someone to do it. The public service is overseen by a hearse management committee and the city’s 90,000 residents are charged a mandatory fee of about $1.28 per household to cover repairs, gas, and payments to the driver.

Animal chaplains provide spiritual support, specifically focusing on relationships with animals. Animal chaplains help clients prepare for a pet’s passing and run animal loss support groups, regardless of a person’s religious beliefs or affiliation.

The Daughters of the Heart of Mary work to train people within the church, specifically nuns and priests, to become social workers. The group came to India in 1951, and currently teaches about 600 students in both bachelor's and master's courses in social work, as well as counseling and psychology.