Holistic veterinarian Dr. Pamela Fisher of North Canton, Ohio believes in the power of music so much that she started the nonprofit Animal Rescue MP3 Project almost four years ago. Since then, she and her team have installed music players packed with over 30 hours of paw-picked music in animal shelters nationwide, effectively bringing music to the ears of over 115,000 dogs and cats.
Music is proven to have calming effects on animals, but never has it been delivered on such a grand scale. Tina Gunther, a volunteer vet tech at the Cut Bank Animal shelter in Montanta, says that the difference the music has made with their animals is astounding.
Any old music won’t do either. Studies show that animals prefer the Classics to Heavy Metal or Punk Rock.”When they play songs they like, they go and sit by the speakers,” Gunther said.
Not only does the music soothe and calm the animals, but a survey conducted by Fisher of 500 shelters that participate in the Project, showed that barking was reduced overall by half. Talk about a storybark ending, less stress and less barking means the pups can show off their true personalities — and get adopted quicker! And that’s truly pawesome.
