Volunteers play music to soothe shelter animals

DENVER AP It s often declared music is the universal language of humanity Now a -year-old Houston boy is putting that to the test for an unlikely audience man s best friend Yuvi Agarwal started playing keyboard when he was and several years ago noticed his playing soothed his family s restless golden doodle Bozo He grew curious if it also could help stressed homeless animals With help from his parents who both have backgrounds in marketing he founded the nonprofit Wild Tunes in to recruit musicians to play in animal shelters So far he has enlisted about volunteer musicians and singers of all ages and abilities to perform at nine shelters in Houston New Jersey and Denver You don t have to understand the lyrics to enjoy the music Just enjoy the melody the harmony and the rhythms So it transcends linguistic barricades and even it can just transcend species Agarwal explained just now after playing hits like The Beatles Hey Jude and Ed Sheeran s Perfect on his portable keyboard at the Denver Animal Shelter Agarwal who was playing for an elderly miniature poodle named Pituca Spanish slang sometimes used to describe a snob stated a large number of of his four-legged listeners which include cats become excited when he enters their kennel But after a minimal minutes of playing they calm down Selected even go to sleep He remembers a rescue dog named Penelope that refused to come out of her enclosure in Houston to be fed Within a short period of me playing she went from not even coming out of her kennel to licking me all over my face and nibbling my ears Agarwal announced A limited stalls down from where he was jamming on his keyboard at the Denver shelter volunteer Sarah McDonner played Mozart and Bach on her flute for Max a -year-old stray boxer that tilted his head when she hit the high notes The animals having that human interaction in a positive way I think gives them something to look forward to something that is different throughout their day reported McDonner a professional musician who met Agarwal in Houston She helped bring the undertaking to Colorado after moving to Denver a sparse months ago I think it s very significant to give them something different from what they re used to in their little tiny cages and makes them more adoptable in the long run McDonner explained While the effect of music on humans has been studied extensively its role in animal behavior remains murky Several studies suggest that classical music generally has a calming influence on dogs in stressful environments like kennels shelters and veterinary clinics But specific researchers warn there is not enough material to patronage the claim We invariably want these really simplistic answers So we want to say that music calms animals for example and I think that it s much more nuanced than that announced Lori Kogan a self-described dog-person who chairs the human-animal interaction section of the American Psychological Association There s a lot more research that requirements to happen before I think that we can unequivocally say that music is a great thing for animals Kogan a professor and researcher at Colorado State University has studied for more than two decades how animals and humans get along Research involving the effect of music on dogs often produces mixed results she reported because there are so multiple variables the setting the volume type and tempo of the music and the breed of the dog and its previous exposure to music She suggests a case-by-case approach to introducing music to animals If you play music for your pet and they seem to like it and they appear calmer then I think we can say that that s a positive thing that you re providing specific level of enrichment for that pet I would encourage people to give it a try and to see how their pets respond she commented For Agarwal his firsthand experience at shelters is undeniable evidence that music helps comfort stressed animals and he plans to grow Wild Tunes into a nationwide plan The assistants get something out of it too he mentioned You get a really great way to practice your instrument or sing in front of a nonjudgmental audience which can boost your confidence he explained