Volunteers use the universal language of music to soothe stressed shelter animals

Denver – It is often said that music is the universal language of humanity. Now, a 12 -year -old Houston boy puts it to the test among an unlikely audience – the man’s best friend.

Yuvi Agarwal started playing keyboard at the age of 4 and several years ago, he noticed that his game soothed Golden Doodle, Golden Doodle, Bozo. It has become curious to know if it could also help stress homeless animals.

With the help of his parents, who both have a history of marketing, he founded non -profit wild tunes in 2023 to recruit musicians to play in animal shelters. Until now, he has enlisted around 100 volunteer musicians and singers of all ages and ability to perform in nine shelters in Houston, New Jersey and Denver.

“You don’t have to understand the lyrics to enjoy music. Just take advantage of melody, harmony and rhythms. He therefore transcends linguistic barriers, and even she can simply transcend species,” said Agarwal recently after playing successes like the “hey jude” of the Beatles and the “perfect” by Ed Sheeran on his portable keyboard.

Agarwal, who played for an elderly miniature poodle named Pituca – the Spanish slang sometimes used to describe a snob – said that many of its four -legged listeners, who include cats, become excited when it enters their kennel. But after a few minutes of play, they calm down. Some even fall asleep.

He remembers a rescue dog named Penelope who refused to get out of his enclosure in Houston to be fed.

“In a short period that I played, she went from not even getting out of her kennel to lick me on my face and nibble on my ears,” said Agarwal.

Some calculates of the place where he was blocking on his keyboard at the Denver refuge, the volunteer Sarah McDonner played Mozart and Bach on her flute for Max, a one -year wandering boxer who tilted her head when she hit the high notes.

“Animals having this human interaction in a positive way, I think, give them something to hope, something different throughout their day,” said McDonner, a professional musician who met Argawal in Houston.

She helped bring the program to Colorado after moving to Denver a few months ago. “I think it is very important to give them something different from what they are used to in their small cages … and makes them more adoptable in the long term,” said McDonner.

Although the effect of music on humans has been widely studied, its role in animal behavior remains troubled.

Several studies suggest that classical music generally has a soothing influence on dogs in stressful environments such as kennels, shelters and veterinary clinics. But some researchers warn that there is not enough data to support the complaint.

“We always want these really simplistic answers. So we mean that music calms animals, for example, and I think it is much more nuanced than that, “said Lori Kogan, a self-written” dog person “who presides over the human-animal interaction section of the American Psychological Association. “There are many more research that must occur before I think we can say unequivocally that music is a good thing for animals.”

Kogan, professor and researcher at Colorado State University, 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 said, because there are so many variables: the frame; The volume, type and tempo of music and the dog’s race and its previous exposure to music.

She suggests an approach on a case -by -case basis to introduce music to animals.

“If you play music for your pet, and they seem to love it and they seem quieter, then I think we can say that it is a positive thing, that you provide a certain level of enrichment for this pet. … I encourage people to try and see how their pets react,” she said.

For Agarwal, his first -hand experience in shelters is undeniable proof that music helps comfort stressed animals, and he plans to develop wild tunes in a national program. Volunteers are doing something about it too, he said.

“You get a great way to practice your instrument or sing in front of an audience without judgment, which can strengthen your confidence,” he said.