With the sudden impact of COVID-19 on the therapy animal community, Pet Partners found ourselves in a challenging situation: the love of animals was needed more than ever, but the ability to bring therapy animals to people was largely cut off. We immediately began considering the countless ways in which…
Have you ever seen one of those “who rescued who?” bumper stickers and smiled, feeling an immediate sense of relatability with the idea that humans tend to benefit so deeply by sharing our lives with pets? General research on pet ownership and the human-animal bond supports this notion, suggesting that…
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…
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…
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…
The first-ever Pet Partners Pet of the Year, a new signature fundraising competition to support Pet Partners, was held February 1–March 15, 2022. And we are so excited at the success of this inaugural event! During the six-week competition, pet candidates (with help from the humans who love them) raised…
The Pet Partners Therapy Animal Program has been dedicated since the beginning to bringing therapy animals to people who can most benefit. For more than three decades our dedicated volunteer teams have been bringing the power of the human-animal bond to people in healthcare settings of all kinds. As the…
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…
Volunteer Appreciation Week 2020 is April 19-25, an opportunity for organizations all over the country to show our gratitude to the volunteers who support our work. At Pet Partners, our mission is built on the efforts of thousands of volunteers across the U.S. and more than a dozen other countries.…
The third annual Pet Partners Pet of the Year event raised thousands to support therapy animal teams and brought hundreds of participants and supporters together to celebrate the amazing animals in our lives. During this six-week competition, which was held February 5 - March 18, 2024, pet candidates (with help…
