How Animals Support Mental Health: Inside the HBSPCA Pet Visiting Program

There are moments in life when simply having an animal beside you becomes the thing that keeps you anchored.

For Natalie S., the Manager of the Pet Visiting Program at the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA, that anchor was a dog named Dixie.

Dixie was a Belgian Malinois who passed away in March 2019. Dixie was a deeply loved family dog within her aunt and uncle’s home, just minutes down the road. And yet, within that closeness, she became something more personal—a steady, grounding presence during some of the most difficult periods of Natalie’s life.

Throughout her life, Natalie has lived with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). During her most severe episodes, the world would become very small. Getting out of bed could feel impossible. Basic care like eating, showering, even brushing her teeth, could feel distant, as though those needs belonged to someone else entirely.

And in those times, asking for help, even from the people closest to her, was something she deeply struggled with.

Instead, she would sometimes ask a different kind of question:

“Can I borrow Dixie for a sleepover?”

It was a quiet, indirect way of reaching for support without having to fully name how much she needed it. And more often than not, Dixie’s presence made a difference that words could not.

“If she was with me, I could manage,” is how she has reflected on those times.

When her aunt and uncle were away, Natalie would often be the one to care for her. Interestingly, those were some of the times she functioned best. Having responsibility for Dixie created structure in a way that felt possible when nothing else did.

I would feed Dixie her dinner and in doing so, I would force myself to eat something. When walking her in the neighbourhood or on the trails, movement became less about obligation and more about sunlight, breath, circulation - something beyond the four walls of a room. If she needed to be brushed or groomed, I would find myself doing the same for myself. Finally showering, brushing my teeth, returning to small acts of care that had felt impossible. And when she wanted to play, bringing me toy, nudging forward with that unmistakable ‘come on’ play bow, I would soften. I would laugh. I would participate in something light, even when carrying heaviness. Dixie didn’t ‘fix’ anything, but what she did offer was something quieter and far more profound: a reason to stay connected to our world when my internal one felt out of reach.

She helped externalize care until, slowly, some of that care could be turned inward again.

That lived experience now sits at the core of Natalie’s work as Manager of the Pet Visiting Program at the HBSPCA.

Through the Pet Visiting Program, she sees daily what she once experienced personally: the presence of an animal can create connection without expectation. It lowers barriers that words alone often cannot. It offers comfort without judgment, presence without pressure, and companionship without demand.

Animal-assisted activity is not intended to replace clinical care or professional mental health supports. Rather, it complements them by offering something profoundly simple and human: connection.

‍

A calm animal resting beside someone in a long-term care home. A gentle visit that interrupts isolation in a hospital. A familiar, grounding presence for someone navigating grief, anxiety, dementia or recovery.

The need for this kind of support is significant.

In Canada, approximately 1 in 5 people will experience a mental health problem in any given year, and nearly everyone will be indirectly affected through family, friends, or community. In Ontario, access to mental health services continues to be challenged by long waitlists, geographic barriers, and systemic capacity constraints. Many individuals also face stigma or practical limitations that prevent them from seeking or maintaining care.

Programs like Pet Visiting do not replace those systems—they strengthen them by meeting people where they are. Sometimes that is a hospital room. Sometimes it is a long-term care residence. Sometimes it is simply a moment of loneliness that does not have a clinical label, but is deeply real nonetheless.

What Natalie learned through Dixie is that healing does not always begin with language or insight. Sometimes it begins with a leash in your hand. A bowl on the floor. The quiet presence of another living being that creates just enough structure to make the next step possible.

And over time, that one-way dependency becomes something mutual: care, connection and shared presence.

That is what she witnesses every day through the Pet Visiting Program. Volunteers and their animals offering something rare and powerful: non-judgmental presence. No expectations. No performance. Just being there.

Dixie is no longer here, but she remains deeply woven into how Natalie understands this work. A portrait of her lives as a tattoo on Natalie's arm as a permanent reminder of that time, and what she helped her survive. She was, in many ways, the first teacher of what animal-assisted connection can make possible. She demonstrated that dignity can exist in the smallest acts of care, and that connection with animals can reach places that words sometimes cannot.

It is often said that we do not always realize the significance of certain relationships until much later. In this case, that relationship helped shape a life’s work.

This is why the Pet Visiting Program matters.

And this is why it continues to grow.

Natalie was fortunate enough to experience that when she needed it most—and now she is committed to helping ensure that others in the community, especially those who may not have the ability to have animals of their own, can experience that same presence and connection.

If you are someone who believes in the power of animal-assisted activity, or are in a position to support community mental health initiatives in meaningful, tangible ways, there are always opportunities to help expand this reach. Sponsorship and support directly translate into more visits, more facilities served, and more moments of connection for people who need them most.

Sometimes healing starts with something simple: having a dog in the room.

To learn more about the Pet Visiting Program, or to show your support, visit: https://www.hbspca.com/community-programs/pet-visiting