Animals providing therapeutic support. Dogs and some other animals are now known to help people to stay healthy by giving them an animal to care for, by giving them a reason to take exercise and by helping to reduce stress in their lives. Young children, especially those with learning problems, and elderly people living alone can be helped by owning pets, and a return to normal health after a person has had an accident or has been ill can be speeded up by contact with pets. Also people who are disabled can be helped by dogs which are trained to do particular every-day tasks.