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Children who get to interact with animals also benefit. Children with diagnosed attention deficit disorder have been known to have significant improvement in their behavior. Children with autism who interact with pets on a regular basis have benefitted as well, they tend to exhibit more pro-social behaviors and less autistic ones.
There have been programs designed to use pets to help children with special needs. Reading Fur Fun is a program that allows children who have difficulties reading to spend time reading to dogs. The dogs don't criticise or correct the children so they often times feel more confident reading to them, plus it makes reading fun and after experiencing the program children tend to have an overall increased self-confidence. Children who care for animlas usually develope higher levels of self-esteem as well.
Troubled teens can also benefit from furry friends. Some juvenile treatment institutions pair teens with troubled dogs that need to be trained before they can be adopted out. The tends in these institutions usually are able to see similarities between themselves and the animal. The dogs who can change their behaviors end up getting a second chance, which is a very valuable lesson for these teens who are in need of a second chance as well.