Swimming with dolphins seems like it would be a really fun experience. If I were on a tropical vacation, for instance, you can bet that's one of the first things I would do. But as far as medical treatment via these aquatic animals is concerned, two Emory researchers say it's just a dangerous money trap.

DAT, or dolphin-assisted therapy, is a way for chronic patients of mental and physical disabilities to get outside the realm of typical treatment. Proponents say dolphins help the healing potential of these individuals. But those against the therapeutic interactions say it's a lose-lose situation for both the dolphins and the patients.

For one, there's no evidence that suggests long-term benefits to swimming with dolphins. Sure, they're social creatures with great intelligence -- but that doesn't make them a doctor. Another reason picks at the fact that it is such a novel experience. Costing upwards of a thousand dollars or more for these private sessions, critics say it may just be an expensive sales pitch. The danger they talk about stems from the claim that children could be put in tanks with 400-pound animals caught in the wild with potential trauma. In all practicality, they don't know for sure if anything comes from swimming with the dolphins. But if it puts a smile on a child's face who would otherwise never get the opportunity, then it should be worth all the costs!