Bill Text: IL HR0224 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Declares April 30, 2023 as Illinois Therapy Animal Day as a way to recognize and honor therapy animal volunteers and their amazing animals. Encourages all citizens of Illinois to recognize the important contributions of therapy animals and to support the organizations that train and provide these animals to individuals in need.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2023-06-26 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HR0224 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-HR0224-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Therapy animals provide comfort, joy, and a sense | ||||||
3 | of well-being to individuals in hospitals, nursing homes, | ||||||
4 | schools, and other settings; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Therapy animals include dogs, cats, horses, | ||||||
6 | rabbits, birds, and other animals that are specially trained | ||||||
7 | to provide affection, support, and therapeutic benefits to | ||||||
8 | individuals in need; and
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9 | WHEREAS, There is a growing body of research on therapy | ||||||
10 | animals that demonstrates the wide variety of ways in which | ||||||
11 | they can make a difference in our lives; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Therapy animals improve mental wellness by | ||||||
13 | decreasing fear, anxiety, loneliness, and isolation; they | ||||||
14 | influence our physical health through lowering perceived | ||||||
15 | levels of pain, shortening recovery times, and even | ||||||
16 | influencing those of us who are ill to have a more positive | ||||||
17 | outlook about their future; and
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18 | WHEREAS, In addition to making us feel better, therapy | ||||||
19 | animals can also help us learn by providing a source of | ||||||
20 | motivation, stimulation, and focus that has been shown to | ||||||
21 | foster reading abilities, including fluency and comprehension, |
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1 | by giving those in need confidence to explore, socialize, and | ||||||
2 | succeed; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Therapy Animal Day is a day to recognize and | ||||||
4 | honor the dedication and hard work of therapy animals, their | ||||||
5 | handlers, and the organizations that support their efforts; | ||||||
6 | and
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7 | WHEREAS, Therapy Animal Day is an opportunity to raise | ||||||
8 | awareness about the importance of therapy animals and their | ||||||
9 | positive impact on individuals with physical, emotional, and | ||||||
10 | cognitive disabilities; therefore, be it
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11 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
12 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
13 | we declare April 30, 2023 as Illinois Therapy Animal Day as a | ||||||
14 | way to recognize and honor therapy animal volunteers and their | ||||||
15 | amazing animals; and be it further
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16 | RESOLVED, That we encourage all citizens of Illinois to | ||||||
17 | recognize the important contributions of therapy animals and | ||||||
18 | to support the organizations that train and provide these | ||||||
19 | animals to individuals in need.
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