Awareness of Canistherapy in Jindřichův Hradec

The bachelor thesis was written in order to survey the level of canistherapy awareness in Jindřichův Hradec. Canistherapy is based on interactions between a human and a dog. That is the reason why the author briefly touched the relationship history as well. Then she continues with the history of zootherapy and specifies terms used in the field of zootherapy. Next chapters clarify the zootherapy practising, i.e. what animals are used for this method, what techniques are applied and what ways is possible to exploit while practising the zootherapy. The chapter analyzing the organizations covering the zootherapy is important as well. In following chapter the author tracks the zootherapy in legislation wraps up important laws related to the work with animals. Next part of the bachelor thesis is dedicated to the canistherapy. It explains the term evolution, introduces the history of canistherapy and its development in the Czech Republic. She focuses here on the conditions of canistherapy both from the dog?s side as well as from the therapist, the facility and the client?s point of view. The author opens practical part of the bachelor thesis with its goal, describes methods and techniques of research. To realize the bachelor thesis research the author has chosen quantitative research and questioning. The outcome is elaborated in form of descriptive statistics and results of questionnaire inquiry is amended with diagrams for clarity. The research goal was to realize the extent of the canistherapy awareness amongst secondary schoolteachers in Jindřichův Hradec and employees (social workers and social services workers) of social services facilities and institutions in Jindřichův Hradec. Two hypothesis were established for the survey purposes. Hypothesis 1: Level of the canistherapy awareness is higher in case social services facilities workers to compare with secondary schoolteachers in Jindřichův Hradec. Hypothesis 2: Respondents with a dog in their possession are better informed than those without. To prove or disprove them, the hypothesis were tested by statistical significance test (T-test) and the result was composed of outcoming levels of significance. For the purposes of T-test zero hypothesis were established. H0 (1): Level of the canistherapy awareness is the same in case of social services facilities workers as well as in case of secondary schoolteachers in Jindřichův Hradec. H0 (2): Level of the canistherapy awareness is the same in case of respondents with own dog as well as those without. To each of thesis related question were prescribed points and each respondent has reached average score. This average score could prove or disprove T-test. Total amount of the questionnaire inquiry respondents was 100. 60 of them were secondary schoolteachers and 40 social services facilities workers. Results of the survey revealed that majority of respondents already had met the auxiliary method, though just at theoretical level, in their life. That is the reason for right answers of respondents to the key question, according the author, what the canistherapy was. Questionnaire included more the canistherapy related questions and as the results revealed, respondents are informed on the auxiliary method. Statistic calculation proved hypothesis, i.e. the social services facilities workers are better informed on the canistherapy than secondary schoolteachers and the respondents owning their own dog, or planning to have, are better informed as well than those without dog. It is necessary to point out that the difference between those groups of respondents is not substantial and majority of respondents provided right answers to the questionnaire questions. The author would recommend the social services facilities where the therapy is not applied to have possibility to get the information on the therapy and to assess possibility to include the canistherapy into their services offer