Very beneficial - At Conundrum I answered a question about a monkey being used as a service animal - here it is for extra reading :)
http://www.whatsyourconundrum.com/pets/can-a-monkey-be-a-service-animal-for-anxiety-and-agrophobia#a03d3c2533b10a0b775898391517db38b07e4f41d1ac084fcace7cf274df609a8

I found many sites and organizations that promote service animals for people with disabilities and the elderly and the results speak for themselves: This PDF is from the Australian Companion Animals Council - its 32 pages and has many testimonials from patients and owners about the benefits - worth reading because it does apply to other countries and really does put pet companions in perspective
http://www.acac.org.au/pdf/Living_Well_Together.pdf

And many testimonials from the Delta Society in the US - read some of them here - they are called 'healing stories' which I think is a wonderful term
http://www.deltasociety.org/Page.aspx?pid=365

And the Australian Guide Dog association also provides companion dogs and pets for therapy - its a great program that gives the children someone to love :)
http://www.guidedogs.com.au/Pets-As-Therapy-Program.html

Most associations do train their animals especially for therapy, training them to handle new situations and petting from many people.. a worthwhile and rewarding task for the handlers and an absolute must for the animal if they are to visit hospitals and homes

Image: Maggie the Therapy Wonder Dog
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ohjoy1/2177767875/
Source(s):
see above


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