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…
Originally published March 2020; updated November 2020 As the world deals with the effects of COVID-19, one of the most important mitigation strategies is social distancing: having people distance and isolate themselves to help prevent spread of the virus. This important public health measure means that people are staying home…
Get your walking shoes and leashes ready! September 28, 2019 is the 2nd Annual World’s Largest Pet Walk, an official Pet Partners walking event and signature fundraiser. This event is for anyone who wants to enjoy the health benefits of being active with pets, of all species, while also supporting…
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…
Infection control is a hot topic right now, with the COVID-19 coronavirus in the news and flu season underway. There’s a lot of discussion about ways to prevent infection with these high-profile bugs. But infection control is also very important for any therapy animal visit, and it’s one of the…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
