Question:
When I saw your invitation for readers to let you know how our animals respond to music, I knew I had to write. As a longtime animal lover and harp player, I've known for quite some time that animals (primarily dogs and cats) have been attracted to harp sounds. My dogs often lie at the base of the instrument where the vibrations would be most strong.
The benefits seem to extend to nondomesticated animals as well. One day a couple of years ago, I took a harp outside and played on the deck. As I was playing, several Canada geese swam up to the area nearby, and then a couple of mallards joined them. A rabbit came hopping through the yard, and several small birds perched on nearby limbs. As a certified therapeutic harp practitioner, I most often use the harp to offer therapeutic music to people who are isolated, depressed or nearing the end of life.
I've enclosed an article from our local paper regarding our local humane society recovering from the theft of $150,000 that was targeted to build a decent facility. Many in the community were crushed. They had worked so hard to raise funds, and now the project is on hold indefinitely until the funds can be replaced. I felt I needed to do something in addition to a financial contribution, and the harp playing was something I wanted to offer.
R.C., Albert Lea, MN Dec 19, 2010
Answer:
I greatly enjoyed the newspaper article describing the transformative effects of your harp music on the caged cats at the Freeborn County Humane Society in Albert Lea, Minn. Remarkable, indeed. Many experienced feral- and stray-cat rehabilitators put on soothing music to help the animals calm down while being socialized.
Music can fascinate many animal species, and the vibrations can affect other species as well -- even plants, according to some studies. Evoking the relaxation response, music can help reduce stress and indirectly benefit the immune system, even affecting developing fetuses whose mothers are exposed to soothing sound waves. The CD "Through a Dog's Ear
" has been orchestrated to provide music to help dogs relax, especially on car rides.
Many animal shelters play soothing music during the daytime, and the benefits to the emotionally stressed resident animals and staff alike are clearly apparent. As for the theft of moneys intended for the animals, it never ceases to amaze me how degenerate some of our own kind can become, stealing and embezzling moneys meant for charities, human and nonhuman. This Christmas and holiday season, I urge all readers to donate moneys and needed supplies (old towels, sheets, collars and leashes, etc.) to their local animal shelters that are experiencing financial difficulties in these times, which are filled up with animals whom their owners claim they can no longer afford to keep. This is one of the little published tragedies of economic hard times.
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