Across California, many people own pets. Many pet owners, like many people from Los Angeles to Orange County, struggle with substance abuse, though it should be noted that the rates of substance abuse are generally on a downward trend.
Still, downward trend or not, there are still a significant number of people in California and across the United States who struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. Many of them are going to require treatment.
Luxe Recovery LA is a luxury treatment center that is located in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Los Angeles. We offer treatment for alcohol and drug addiction, process addiction, and mental health rehab in California.
Can You Bring Your Pet to Rehab?
While drug and alcohol rehab may sometimes integrate animal therapy into treatment, bringing your own pet can vary by a center’s policies.
In general, trained therapy animals are welcome because they aid in emotional and mental healing. However, bringing personal pets might require making specific arrangements due to hygiene, safety, and the needs of other patients.
If you want to have a pet by your side in rehab. Check with the rehab center beforehand to know if they allow pets and whether accommodations can be made for your pet.
If they are a pet-friendly rehab, then you should be able to bring your pet, provided you bring everything you need to take care of it while you’re there.
Why Would Someone Bring a Pet to a Rehab Facility
Many addicts who own pets can often find themselves putting off checking into drug rehab simply because they don’t have anyone to take care of their pets.
An inpatient treatment program generally entails having to live in a rehab center for weeks or months at a time, which means that they’ll be away from their pets and need someone to take care of their pets while they’re in treatment.
Many people are emotionally attached to their pets. Indeed, some studies show that millennials are increasingly choosing pet ownership over parenthood for a variety of reasons. But this means that many people emotionally invest in their pets to the point that they do not want to leave them.
Another reason some pet owners may be hesitant to check into a rehab program is that they have no one to look after their pets while they are in treatment.
Addiction can often isolate people and strain interpersonal relationships. Because of this, an addict may not have anyone in their social circle that they can reach out to to take care of their beloved pet.
While there are boarding facilities that can house pets for extended periods of time, they can cost a lot of money, and many addicts can find themselves under financial strain because their addiction has caused performance issues at work, and many also exhaust all their resources to feed their addiction.
Because of these reasons, many addicts find that they can’t check into a rehab facility as that would mean either surrendering their furry friends to a shelter or abandoning them.
Given the choice between not getting help to make a successful recovery from addiction and abandoning a beloved companion, many people choose the latter, and it’s not a difficult choice for many of them.
However, an alternative is for an addict to find a pet-friendly rehab program. A pet-friendly rehab center would allow addicts to receive residential treatment while allowing them to bring their pets with them.
This way, they can receive treatment while knowing that their animals are right there with them while they try to get sober.
Benefits of Pet Friendly Rehab
Having a pet around while in drug or alcohol addiction treatment can have benefits. One of the most prominent benefits of having a pet around is that they can provide emotional support and companionship, as inpatient treatment can be emotionally draining. Pets can also reduce your stress, making the recovery process a little easier.
One of the main goals of rehab is to help develop a recovering addict’s life skills.
Caring for your pet can foster a sense of responsibility and establish a routine, both of which can be beneficial in developing new skills. Also, taking care of a pet can distract you from your cravings.
How Pets Can Help in Addiction Treatment
Even if you don’t go to a pet-friendly rehab facility and pets are not there during residential treatment, pets provide many benefits in the recovery process. Some of these benefits include:
Pets Are Accepting
Pets give humans unconditional love. If they’re taken care of, pets are incredibly affectionate. They don’t judge people; they understand their human beings are theirs. This can be especially important for addicts, as drug or alcohol addiction can often make people feel worthless.
Pets Foster Accountability
Another way that pets can help in the treatment process is by fostering accountability. Pets rely on their owners to feed, clean, and shelter them. They also need their owners to look after their health by taking them to the vet.
For an addict, knowing that they have something that they’re responsible for can motivate them to get sober and show them that they are capable of taking care of something.
Pet Versus Support Animal
For the most part, animals in treatment facilities are trained support animals, not pets. While pets can provide emotional support and comfort and be trained to do tricks, they are not trained to perform specific tasks related to disabilities or mental health conditions.
On the other hand, a support animal, often referred to as a service animal or emotional support animal (ESA), is specifically trained to help individuals with disabilities or mental health conditions. Service animals undergo extensive training to perform tasks such as guiding individuals with visual impairments, alerting them to seizures, or providing support during anxiety or panic attacks.
Emotional support animals, while not trained in specific tasks, are prescribed by mental health professionals to provide comfort and companionship to individuals with emotional or psychological distress.
The main distinction is that support animals have specialized training or legal paperwork that allows them to accompany their owners in various settings where pets might not be allowed, such as airplanes or apartment buildings with a no-pet policy.
Outpatient Treatment
While most people think of rehab, they think of inpatient treatment and staying in a facility for an extended period of time. Another alternative that can appeal to pet owners who can’t or don’t want to be away from their pets is outpatient treatment.
Outpatient treatment involved regular therapy sessions and attending support groups. And flexible scheduling so recovering addicts can receive care and support to work towards and maintain sobriety while living at home and continuing to meet their day-to-day responsibilities, such as taking care of their pets.
It should be noted, however, that an outpatient program may not work for everyone. Outpatient programs are best for people with mild to moderate addiction issues or those who have completed an inpatient program with outpatient treatment serving as aftercare.
Find Your Healing at a Pet-Friendly Rehab Center
Many pet owners who struggle with substance abuse can often find themselves having to forego their recovery journey so their pets can be taken care of. But that doesn’t have to be the case. There are pet-friendly rehab centers all over California.
Luxe Recovery is a pet-friendly rehab center in the heart of Los Angeles. In addition to being welcoming to your pet, we provide you with the highest level of support in luxurious amenities. Contact us today and we can begin your recovery with your pet around. Whether you’re a pet owner or not, we want to help you overcome your addiction.
