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New research suggests that keeping pets can work wonders with looked-after children.

Anabel Unity Sale looks at the pros and cons of building another species into the care package.

An old show business adage warns of the dangers of working with children and animals. But there may be good reasons for social care staff to combine the two.

A new guide from British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering suggests that pets may be a valuable tool for helping traumatised children to rebuild trusting relationships and develop positive self-esteem. Promoting Resilience¹ recommends that children in the care system will, under some circumstances, benefit from access to pets and other animals. It argues that the warmth and trust they receive from animals "may prove healing gifts for the child craving acceptance and affection".

But for anyone horrified at the prospect of children keeping snakes in their bedrooms, Robbie Gilligan, report author and director of the Children's Research Centre at Trinity College, Dublin, can put their minds at rest. "I'm not recommending that every child gets a pet as they pass through the doors of a foster or care home. If it does happen, it has to be handled sensitively."

But he does suggest that, when a child goes into care, whether or not they have a pet or can have regular access to an animal should be considered. He says: "In the past, people have not paid enough attention to the fact that children come into care with existing sets of relationships, and these might include pets. We should not be rupturing these relationships."

Gilligan says professionals working with children need to value animals' therapeutic potential, not only for their direct benefits to the child's state of mind, but also as a way of helping professionals and carers to engage with the child. "The cost of an animal should not be a luxury," he argues. "It could be part of a care package if required, and be supported within reason."

One benefit for a child in care of having a pet, Gilligan says, is the chance for them to take responsibility for a living thing - something they may have been told they were incapable of. "An animal gives them warmth, recognition and attention. They may be more reliable, consistent and uncritical than some of the adults in their lives," he explains.

Pets can also act as an effective way of helping the child connect with other children. BAAF's report says: "Care of an animal may introduce the child to a whole new set of peers who share a similar bond to this type of animal - something that can be a useful way of building a social network unrelated to their family or care situation." But Gilligan adds that there can be pitfalls to strong bonds with animals. While most children are distraught at the death of a much-loved pet, for children in care their relationship with an animal can be of crucial importance. As a result, death or illness of an animal companion requires extremely sensitive handling.

June McNicholas, a lecturer in the University of Warwick's department of psychology, has studied how children interact with their pets. Her research revealed that more than 90 per cent of the primary school age children interviewed saw their pet as being in their top 10 "most special relationships".

"Animals are classed by children themselves as highly significant relationships over members of their family who do not live in their home," she adds, "and even by children with large social networks of humans."

McNicholas says pets provide children with comfort and the opportunity to confide. "Pets are the ones that children turn to build their self-esteem. They are friends to share special secrets with if they are not ready to talk to an adult."

The reason behind this is simple: "For many children in families, they are the lowest form of life because they are the youngest. But they realise they rank higher than their pet and that the animal has no authority over them." She says that interacting with a less sophisticated animal than themselves also helps develop a child's social skills and sense of empathy.

McNicholas would like to see research done into the practicality of children in care retaining existing pets or gaining wider access to animals. She completed a similar study, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, looking at older people going into residential care and their relationships with pets². The research proved influential - some care providers and councils are now changing their policy and allowing new residents to keep their pets with them.

Foster carers and residential care staff may shudder at the thought of having to deal with animals, but there may be a downside for some children, too.

Pauline Flavin is director of SACCS Leaps and Bounds residential service, which looks after children between four and 12 years old. She says: "Children here have been traumatised and see animals in a different way from other people. They may have been abused in the past with animals taking a role in that."

Flavin also believes introducing animals to the kind of traumatised children SACCS works with could be a risk to the animals' welfare, as they may not be properly looked after. "We see children whose own needs are paramount and who would not be able to give to a pet."

A cage of gerbils, a guinea pig or a cat are privileges that many children living with their families enjoy, and children in the care system should be no different. The challenge for professionals is making sure that the needs of the child, and of the animal, are met.

¹ Robbie Gilligan, Promoting Resilience, British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering, 2001

² June McNicholas, "Pets and People in Residential Care: Towards a Model of Good Practice", Social Care Findings 44 Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 1994