Dr. Avi Leilien is a veterinarian and the founder and Chief Executive Director of Magen David College for Para-Veterinary studies. The College was established 14 years ago by Dr. Leilien.
The "Magen David Yarok" College is a unique school that prepares students in the following fields: Veterinary Assistance, Animal-assisted Therapy, Dog Training, Dog & Cat grooming. The school also developed a special program: "The Young Veterinarian", geared toward students from 1st grade and up to the 12th grade high school students who are preparing for their S.A.T exams (Bagrut) in veterinary. About two years ago Magen David Yarok and Dr. Leilien received the 1st prize in the category of Entrepreneurial-Educational programs in Israel. They received the prize from the hands of Ehud Olmert, now the Prime Minister of Israel. |
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The animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is an approach that uses
animals as a therapeutic tool to help in the physical or mental treatment of
human beings with various kinds of problems – physical, cognitive and
psycho-social. The persistent security and economic pressure in
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Our main goal in the teaching program is to match an animal to each patient according his specific therapeutic needs. Therefore, we use a wide variety of animals, including invertebrates. In general, the animals used are classed as transportable or non-transportable. The former include pet birds, reptiles, rabbits, rodents, dogs, cats, ferrets, amphibians and some invertebrates. The latter include horses (therapeutic riding), dolphins and zoological collections (zoos and pet corners). |
The teaching program aims: 1. to teach basic psychological principles related to human-animal interactions; 2. to teach basic veterinary practice, including especially zootechnical and zoonotic (medical risks for humans) aspects of the close interaction between people and animals; and 3. to use these tools in treating human patients. |
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In using animals to
treat people it is obligatory to verify that the animal is not a carrier of
diseases that endanger people, especially patients who are immunosuppressed
because of disease, chemotherapy or other causes. Moreover,
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Some examples of zoonotic risks for humans:
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Veterinary supervision is also needed to ensure correct husbandry and transportation, and to minimize stressing of animals. Aggressive animals should not be used because they may bite or scratch the patients.
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Two examples out of many AAT cases successfully treated by students of Magen David Yarok college are: A 50-year-old man suffering from schizophrenia since his military service, was successfully treated with a hand-fed female cockatiel ( Nymphicus hollandicus ), and a 39-year-old man with mental deficiency was successfully treated with guinea pigs ( Cavia porcellus ). In both examples, the life quality of the human patient was improved, their self-confidence was enhanced by their responsibility for taking care of the animals, and their ability to communicate with other people improved. |
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