Photos: Jani Schofield

Jani Schofield, 7, visits the Castaic animal shelter with her father, Michael. Jani, who suffers from schizophrenia, is less violent and depressed when engaged in near constant stimulation. Her favorite outing is to the animal shelter.  (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)

January Schofield visits with a cat at the county animal shelter in Castaic. “Animals are the only thing that really seems to make her completely in the moment,” says her father, Michael Schofield. Jani, 7 suffers from child-onset schizophrenia.  (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)

Jani Schofield, with her father, Michael, gets down to the cat’s vantage point to visit with a resident feline at the Castaic animal shelter. Some of Jani’s hallucinations have taken the form of cats.  (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)

Michael Schofield holds a tortoise for his daughter during a visit to an animal shelter, one of Jani’s favorite outings. “It’s one of the success strategies for helping her deal with her illness,” Schofield says.  (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)

Jani runs to the pen of a favorite dog at the Castaic animal shelter. Activity tends to hush the intruders in Jani’s brain. Because the stimulation needs to be constant, the family searches each day for free diversions. Jani’s favorite pastime is visiting the animal shelter. Sometimes, when they run out of things to do, a panicked look comes into her eyes. “What are we going to do next?” she asks pleadingly.  (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)