The Science of Hope: What Research Says About Pets, Music, and Healing
The mission of the Brave Like Me Foundation is to bring joy, adventure, and a sense of belonging to all children and teenagers navigating complex medical conditions. We approach this wholehearted care through three core program pillars: Brayden’s Books (Mind), Brave Friends Adventures (Body), and Brave Pets (Spirit). While each program is vital to our core mission, our Brave Pets program is uniquely integrated into the healthcare environment, facilitating meaningful reunions between hospitalized children and their own family pet. Donors, volunteers, and hospital teams frequently ask the questions: (1) What research supports this approach, and (2) How do we know these interactions are impactful?
While the Brave Like Me Foundation is currently building its own internal research and data-collection capacity, the broader scientific community provides a strong theoretical framework for why our programs matter to children with complex medical conditions, and their families. To explore these questions, we reviewed relevant scientific literature on the human-animal bond, animal-assisted interventions, and music therapy.
There is a robust body of research detailing how interactions with companion animals can positively influence both the psychological state and physiological recovery of patients. According to clinical perspectives compiled by the Blanchard Valley Health System, animal-assisted interactions can "reduce feelings of loneliness or isolation, encourage communication and socialization skills, and provide comfort during stressful times" (Blanchard Valley, undated). This can help a child be more cooperative with hospital staff, more at ease with their condition, and more likely to be able to persevere through their treatment. For a child experiencing prolonged hospitalization, a pet's presence may act as a powerful buffer against the isolation of the medical environment.
Furthermore, a 2024 poll by the American Psychological Association (APA) highlighted that a vast majority of pet owners credit their pets with significantly improving their mental health through unconditional love and companionship. Respondents noted that pets provide a “calming presence (62%), stress and anxiety reduction (62%), as well as an increase in social connection with others (19%)” (APA, 2024). The benefits of animal interaction extend beyond emotional comfort - they contribute to measurable physical responses as well. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) notes that interacting with animals can "decrease levels of cortisol (a stress-related hormone) and lower blood pressure" (NIH, 2018). This is particularly evident in pain management settings. Data shared by Therapy Partners Inc. highlights a study where fibromyalgia patients who spent time with a therapy dog—rather than sitting in a standard outpatient waiting area—showed significant improvements in pain, mood, and overall measures of distress (Therapy Partners Inc., 2020).
In the wider field of human-animal bond research, scientists utilize tools like the Human-Animal Bond Score (HABSCORE) to measure the strength of the relationship between humans and animals. Higher attachment scores are frequently associated with lower levels of cortisol (as noted above, this is the body's primary stress hormone) and higher self-reported quality of health. While standard hospital therapy programs utilize trained but unfamiliar therapy animals, Brave Like Me’s Brave Pets program focuses specifically on reuniting children with their own pets. Because the baseline attachment bond is already deeply established in existing research, we hypothesize that these personal reunions may activate physiological benefits equally or with even more emotional impact than interactions with unfamiliar therapy animals.
In addition, a unique component of the Brave Pets reunion experience is the intentional use of music as part of a sensory rich experience. At the time of scheduling a Brave Pets reunion slot, we ask the caregiver booking the appointment to share three or more of their Brave Kid's favorite songs to be played on repeat during the reunion. Digging into more research, we found that music is more than just entertainment in these types of environments; music acts as a powerful clinical tool. According to neuroscientific research highlighted by Ohio University, the emotional benefits of music therapy include "helping people relax, explore their emotions, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, ease stress levels, and regulate mood" (Ohio University, 2024). We believe that when paired with a pet reunion, music helps create a safe, familiar sensory environment that assists children in coping with the psychological weight of a diagnosis, whether the weight entails a loss of normalcy or peace in one’s life or the tackling of the thoughts of life and death. Lisa Jones, a Music Therapist at the nonprofit Children’s Health in Texas, summarizes it well with this- "music is a very effective tool to help children cope with their diagnosis...it can help reduce pain, alleviate stress and even improve a patient's vital signs by relaxing the body."
It is important to note that the Brave Like Me Foundation has not yet conducted formal, independent research on our specific program pillars. However, the existing scientific literature across pediatric care, neuroscience, and the human-animal bond offers strong support for the approach we are taking. The evidence suggests that combining customized pet reunions (with audio/visual sensory connections) creates a highly supportive environment that may reduce acute stress, lower pain perception, and significantly enhance the emotional well-being of hospitalized children. As we look to the future, Brave Like Me is committed to moving from "research-ready" to "research-active," collecting and analyzing our own data to contribute to this growing field that supports “whole child” pediatric care - one that includes emotional, mental well-being and social environment alongside physical care.
-Ben Penote, Programs Research and Evaluation Intern
REFERENCES:
Pet-Therapy, bvhealthsystem.org/expert-health-articles/pet-therapy. Accessed 14 July 2026.
Psychiatry.Org - Americans’ Pets Offer Mental Health Support to Their Owners, 1 out of 5 Pet Owners Has an Emotional, www.psychiatry.org/news-room/news-releases/pets-offer-mental-health-support-to-their-ownersAccessed 14 July 2026.
The Power of Pets | NIH News in Health, stagetestdomain.nih.gov/2018/02/power-pets. Accessed 14 July 2026.
Animal Therapy Research — Therapy Partners, www.therapypartners.org/animal-therapy-research. Accessed 14 July 2026.
International Survey of Pet Owners & Veterinarians | Habri, habri.org/international-hab-survey/. Accessed 14 July 2026.
Children’s Health, in Dallas, Texas - www.childrens.com
https://www.childrens.com/health-wellness/the-healing-effects-of-music-therapy
What Makes Music Therapy Effective?, www.ohio.edu/news/2024/07/what-makes-music-therapy-effective. Accessed 14 July 2026.
