The positive impacts of a Pet Partners therapy animal team visit often extends well past the visit itself. In this guest post, Dr. Elizabeth Lynch, DVM, shares how one special therapy guinea pig inspired an entire school to embrace the healing benefits of animal-assisted interventions in their classrooms every day. …
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…
On November 13, 2019, Pet Partners brought therapy animals to Congress with a new event: Meet the Pets. Hosted in conjunction with the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC), this event gave members of Congress, their staff, and other people on Capitol Hill the opportunity to interact with some Pet…
Our volunteers are the heart of the Pet Partners Therapy Animal Program. They’re the ones who bring the benefits of the human-animal bond to their communities with therapy animal visits. They’re the ones who instruct potential handlers about therapy animal work, and do outreach in their communities to help people…
The 4th annual World’s Largest Pet Walk took place on Saturday, September 25, and it was an amazing event! People across the U.S. and around the world participated, showing their support for therapy animals and the benefits of walking with pets. Thank you to everyone who registered, everyone who walked,…
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…
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…
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…
