Paws and Whiskers
Where warmth and comfort dwell,
Resides a friend with gentle eyes and tales they cannot tell.
With wagging tails and purring chests, they soothe the weary soul.
With noses cold and fur so soft, they brighten every day.
Through simple acts of boundless love, they set our spirits free.
Edyth Kurzweil, 2024
“A small pet animal is often an excellent companion for the sick.”
Florence Nightingale, 1859
What is Animal Therapy?
Animal therapy work teaches volunteers with their gentle, affectionate pets to provide meaningful therapeutic visits for people who have physical, mental, or social needs. A therapy animal visit can provide a valuable sense of reassurance, joy, or calm to people experiencing stress, loneliness, or illness. Whether the therapy team is working with a child struggling to read, visiting a patient and their family in a hospital, or cheering up a senior lonely in assisted living, therapy animals and their owners work together as a team to improve people’s lives.
Various facilities and locations such as courtrooms, funeral homes, special education classrooms, prisons, libraries, cancer treatment centers, and dementia units invite animal therapy organizations and their volunteers to spend time with their clients and perform the miracle of pet therapy.
Types of Animal Therapy
Animal Assisted Activities or Visitation (AAA) to promote a general feeling of well-being in the participant. Isolation and anxiety are reduced. Often, the animal assisted visit provides recreation. The animal offers unconditional love. These types of visits are conducted in programs and facilities listed below. Usually, AAA therapy animals do not need to have any specialized training beyond their initial therapy training.
Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT), in contrast, uses animals to facilitate healing or rehabilitation in a therapeutic setting. The therapy entails goal-directed intervention. The animal is an integral part of the treatment process. AAT encourages physical, social, cognitive, and emotional activities. The participant’s needs are met by utilizing the mutually nurturing relationship between people and animals. Therapy animals working in AAT require special training and work with individuals or small groups.
Where is Animal Therapy Found?
Animal Therapy Organizations work with client organizations to develop parameters of service and schedules. Client organizations are generally categorized by programs. Animal Therapy volunteers work in many different programs, such as those listed below.
Are my Pet and I Good Candidates for Animal Therapy?
Each Animal Therapy Organization has its own specific criteria for evaluating/assessing people who want to visit with their animals. The criteria are meant to assure that the animal is well behaved and friendly with strangers. In addition, the handler demonstrates that they always have control of their animal.
I’m ready to Start!
Search here for our member Animal Therapy Organizations near you.