Start Here: Terms Every Pet Partners Volunteer Should Know
08/15/2025
If you’ve started the journey towards volunteering with your pet, you might start hearing a few new, unfamiliar words. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with all the definitions you need to succeed!
To be the best handler you can be—for your pet and for the people you visit—it’s important to understand the lingo.
Read on to discover some of the most essential terms that every therapy animal volunteer should know before starting out.
Terms to Know
Consent
When you work with therapy animals, consent means whether your animal agrees to participate in an interaction. The best, safest visits between your pet and a student, patient, or client happen when your pet isn’t just being obedient: they’re actively choosing to engage.
Evaluation
The evaluation is when you and your animal get to show basic “good behavior” skills that are needed for safe visits. It’s going to look a lot like basic obedience skills, but remember: as the handler, you are also being scored how well you support and advocate for your pet, and how well you lead the visit. Learn more about what to expect at a Pet Partners evaluation here.
Handler
Handlers are people like you—the human end of the leash. Your job is to support your pet during visits, advocate for them, and make visits as safe, effective, and enjoyable as possible for everyone involved. To join the Therapy Animal Program, handlers complete the Pet Partners Handler Course to learn all the most important skills.
Therapy Animal Team
Therapy animal teams are the special combination of a handler and an animal working together. They’ve registered with Pet Partners because they’re prepared and able to volunteer in their community.
Registration
Every therapy animal team that joins the Pet Partners Therapy Animal Program completes a registration. You’ll pass an evaluation, submit a health check for your pet, plus new volunteers need to pass a background check. This process confirms that the team meets the Program’s requirements and is ready to start (or continue) visiting. Registered teams are also covered by the Pet Partners liability insurance policy.
Proactive
This term may be familiar to you, but what does it mean to be a proactive therapy animal handler? As a proactive handler, you’re familiarity with your pet means you can predict their responses to things in their environment. Whether it’s soothing them when there are loud sounds or giving instructions for how they like to be pet, proactive handlers know how to set their therapy animal up for success.
Proactive handlers are the counter to reactive handlers, who only take action after their animal responds to something, or inactive handlers, who don’t think ahead or take any action at all.
Team Evaluator (TE)
Team evaluators are Pet Partners volunteers who’ve done extra coursework and logged a specific number of volunteer hours to earn an additional license. These volunteer leaders have tested with Pet Partners staff to prepare them to evaluate new and renewing Pet Partners teams.
PETS™
Pets aren’t just the animals we work with: PETS™ is also a helpful acronym that Pet Partners created to remember the most important things when communicating with your animal—both during visits, and in daily life.
PETS™ stands for:
- Presence: Being both physically close to your animal, and paying attention to them
- Eye contact: Making eye contact with your pet helps reassure them and gives you the chance to check in on how they’re feeling during a visit
- Touch: Petting your animal is another way to reassure them, demonstrate how they like to be touched, and check in that they’re still physically comfortable during a visit
- Speech: Giving your animal cues and speaking to them in a calm voice—rather than a stressed or anxious one—let’s them know that they’re safe
Handlers can dive deeper into all things PETS™ in the Handler Course.
YAYABA®
YAYABA™ stands for “You Are Your Animal’s Best Advocate.” This is a principle that should always come first when you’ve volunteering with your pet. The good news is a great pet owner is probably already skilled at this!
When you are your animal’s best advocate, you’re proactive: you pay attention to keep them comfortable and calm. You also take care of your animal before taking care of the people you’re visiting.
YAYABA™ in action means being mindful of your animal’s needs like bio breaks, food, and water. It also means watching for their specific signs of stress. Sometimes, you’ll have to put their needs before your own: if you see that your pet doesn’t like a certain visit environment, it’s in everyone’s best interest to choose a different one.
Advocating for your pet builds their trust in you and strengthens your bond. It also promotes safety for all.
Why These Terms Matter
Learning these terms helps you feel confident and prepared during your registration, and on every visit you make. Think of this vocabulary as your toolkit: when you understand the language around therapy animal volunteering, you’ll be better equipped to navigate the process, advocate for your pet, and connect with the people you’re visiting.
You’ll also feel more at home in the Pet Partners community. Whether you’re talking with a Team Evaluator, reading the Handler Guide, or attending a Pet Partners webinar, these terms will come up often. Knowing what they mean helps you ask the right questions, understand what’s expected, and move forward with clarity.
And just as important: it helps your pet. When you understand what it means to be their handler, how to read their body language, and how to respond, you’ll set your team up for success. A well-informed handler is a more confident, calm, and effective partner—and your animal will feel that trust and reassurance during every step of your journey together.
Ready to Turn this Knowledge to Action?
Now that you have the basic terms under you’re belt, you’re ready to take the next steps to becoming a team. Start by creating a Volunteer Center account and exploring the Handler Course. If you’re not sure if your pet is ready yet, that’s okay! We’re here to help you learn, prepare, and feel confident as you move forward. You and your pet can make a big difference, and we can’t wait to see where your journey leads.
Questions about the registration process or need help from our team? Contact us.
If you want to learn more about preparing to become a therapy animal team, check out some of our other posts:
