Understanding canine body language is not just a useful skill — it’s imperative in order to fulfill handler duties and advocate for our therapy animals. Being fluent in in our dogs' body language also helps maintain the safety of our clients. The American Veterinary Medical Association states that being able…
Since 2017, Pet Partners has offered a scholarship funded by Dr. Aubrey Fine, named the Magic Award in memory of his therapy dog Magic, to registered volunteers for use in personal/professional development in the field of AAI. In 2022, the scholarship was expanded to include members of our sister organization,…
One Health Day is observed each year on November 3. The effects of COVID-19 have made especially clear how important the concept of One Health is to protecting the health of everyone. We want to revisit our blog post about One Health Day, because the concepts of One Health remain…
This post is part of a continuing series on preparing your pet for therapy animal work. Pet Partners knows that training your animal to be a part of a registered therapy animal team can feel like a very big endeavor. To make sure that preparing your animal for the world…
I woke up this morning thinking it was any other day. I ate my breakfast, played with my beloved tennis ball collection, and laid in my favorite sunny spot for a while before my human came over with my brush. Wait a second—I got a bath last night, and now…
The positive effects of the human-animal bond are undeniable, but how exactly do they come about? While research and anecdotes have demonstrated that animal-assisted interventions are effective, Andrea M. Beetz delves into theories about why and how they are effective in her 2017 article, “Theories and possible processes of animal…
Not all therapy animals are dogs, and prospective handlers who adopt other species may need specialized information on how to prepare their pets for therapy animal work. For this guest post we welcome Kristin Woodbury with House Rabbit Society and a previous therapy rabbit handler, who offers advice on rabbit…
October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, and in honor of this important observance that helps shelter dogs find homes with loving families, we’re pleased to share this blog post about shelter pets as therapy animals. Approximately 6.5 million animals enter shelters across the U.S each year. If you’re like…
This post is part of a continuing series on preparing your pet for therapy animal work. Animals who become part of our Therapy Animal Program need some essential skills in order to do this work safely and successfully. While the skills will vary depending on the animal's species, all prospective…
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…
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…
Pet Partners is pleased to present this guest post from one of our therapy cat teams. Stitches and her handler Nikki Christopher became a Pet Partners team in 2017 and Stitches gained attention for her work at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. We asked Stitches (with Nikki's assistance) to share some…
This post is part of a continuing series on preparing your pet for therapy animal work. If you’re interested in becoming a therapy animal team with your pet, you’ll want to take time to get your animal ready for doing this work. The most important aspect of a successful therapy…
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Pet Partners is committed to improving human health and well-being through the human-animal bond, and this includes finding new ways to bring the effects of therapy animals to people who can benefit. Walk With Me is a special initiative within the Pet Partners Therapy Animal Program for teams who would…
We know that our canine companions can lighten the mood, make us laugh, and generally improve our quality of life. But is it true that they can actually decrease pain? The growing body of research on AAI supports the use of animal-assisted activities and animal-assisted therapies for pain relief. Whether…
Therapy animal handlers enjoy volunteering their time to enhance the lives of others, but it’s important that therapy animals are also comfortable doing this work. Many people wonder whether or not therapy animals actually like their jobs. Two recent studies have addressed this question. A 2018 Applied Animal Behaviour Science study found…
