For a dog in shelter care, a comfortable, well-maintained home run by the ASPCA with all the luxuries possible won’t compare to the security and comfort of a forever home.
Martin Agee, a professional violinist, offers his services and his instrument because he is aware of this.
Martin Agee is a violinist who has performed all over the world with some of the most esteemed orchestras,
but he freely acknowledges that his favorite performance is when he plays for his animal companions at the neighborhood ASPCA shelter.
‘I will always remember my first day,’ he told Medium. Numerous canines among them have experienced trauma.
At this point, they start the healing process. We are showing them kindness. I have to fight the need to cry on some days.
The dogs I play for have either been abused or mistreated, and they are all in varying states of recovery.Agee lost his greyhound, Melody, which motivated him to volunteer.
In the beginning, he only participated in the volunteer program as a reader, and he joked on his application that he might play the violin for the animals.
It was just his way of giving back.
He added on The Today Show, ‘I almost joked to some people
that I might play my violin for the dogs when I’m there.’ ‘I had no idea that would actually come to pass.’
As it happens, it might be the best thing for the puppies; research has indicated that auditory stimulation can be highly helpful; one study,
in example, found that listening to classical music made shelter animals more at ease. And nothing is more classical than Bach—also the area of expertise that Martin Agee possesses.
Its underlying science is also really amazing. Emotions can be controlled by the limbic and auditory cortical systems in humans and other animals.
That’s the reason we sigh at that one song that makes us sigh or become excited when we hear our favorite tunes.
Certain sounds, like raindrops hitting a window sill, truly help us to unwind. And when dubstep rears its industrial head, we can’t help but grit our teeth in a nervous sweat.