In 2020, when stay at home orders and social isolation measures were put in place to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, reading visits at schools and libraries under our Read With Me™ initiative ceased to be an option in many places. At the same time, many families were experiencing educational…
Pet Partners therapy animal teams visit in a huge variety of facilities and environments. While people most often think of hospital visits and reading programs as settings for therapy animals, there’s really no limit to the places where therapy animal teams can have an impact. We want to share more…
If you’re a registered Pet Partners therapy animal team in the U.S. or Canada, you know that you received a team rating when you completed your team evaluation, and that it’s listed on your acceptance letter and team ID badge. And if you’re a staff member at a facility that receives…
There is no doubt that time is one of the most valuable commodities that we have—especially in this era in which it seems the world is spinning faster than ever. Yet even with the culture of hustle that surrounds us, millions of people still choose to give their time to…
Originally published May 19, 2020; updated March 4, 2021 This post was originally published in May 2020, when we had early optimism about the possibility of returning to more typical therapy animal visits. Over the past 10 months we've seen the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic go through recurring waves…
This interview was originally published July 15, 2019. There have been changes in some of the laws since this interview was originally published. We held a Facebook Live event with Ellie Wetzel on February 16, 2021 that covers some of this new information. You can view a recording of this…
Programs where children read to therapy animals have long been a part of AAI. Our Read With Me™ initiative gives schools, libraries, and therapy animal teams tools and resources for setting up animal-assisted reading programs onsite. But with stay at home orders and social isolation measures in place during the…
Dr. Leo Bustad was one of the founders of Pet Partners (then called Delta Society). His influence on the field of animal-assisted interventions was major, going beyond his role in founding our organization. In this guest post, Dr. Alan Beck shares some thoughts on Dr. Bustad’s influence and his memories…
One of the principles that makes the Pet Partners Therapy Animal Program the gold standard is YAYABA™, which stands for You Are Your Animal’s Best Advocate. YAYABA is your most important responsibility as a handler, because your animal’s welfare should always be your top priority. Practicing YAYABA includes allowing your…
If you’re interested in learning more about the world of animal-assisted interventions, you’re in the right place! The first step to understanding animal-assisted interventions is to have a grasp on the terminology. With animal-assisted interventions gaining popularity, more and more terms have been created to attempt to describe these services.…
Rewarding Opportunity – Join the Pet Partners team and make a big difference! Pet Partners is a national nonprofit leader that supports thousands of therapy animal teams who are specially trained to lovingly share the healing benefits of pets with people in need. We are currently seeking a skilled Accounting…
When you think of a therapy animal, what comes to mind? Is it an adorable golden retriever seeming to smile at a client, or perhaps you imagine a horse at an equine-assisted facility? The work of these more common therapy animal species is spectacular, but there are other species in…
