Our therapy animal teams serve nationwide and around the world. They devote many hours to their service, sharing their empathetic spirits and friendly hearts with people in need. These dedicated volunteers affect so many lives, whether visiting children in a classroom, supporting staff and patients at a healthcare facility, comforting people after a crisis, or spending time with seniors in a residential care facility, just a few of the locations where therapy animal teams are found. Their impact makes a major difference in the lives of those they visit. This page honors their many contributions to communities where they serve.
Our deepest gratitude goes to the beloved pets who retired from Pet Partners therapy animal visits between October and July of 2022.
Read the names of our most recent alumni.
Our heartfelt condolences go to the handlers, families, and communities who lost a valued therapy animal and whose loss we learned of between October and December of 2022. The impact of their work will be felt for years to come.
Read the names of our therapy animals who have most recently crossed the rainbow bridge.
Current honors lists are updated quarterly.
Pet Partners is proud and grateful for the hard work of our therapy animals who retired in 2022, and the work of their handlers.
Read the names of our 2022 alumni.
We have profound gratitude for our therapy animals who have passed away, and for our handlers who shared their pets with so many people.
Read the names of the therapy animals whose passing we learned of in 2022.
If you would like to honor a therapy animal who touched your life, please consider an honor or memorial donation in tribute to them.
We’re pleased to share the following tributes, courtesy of their handlers, to some of the amazing therapy animals who have served with Pet Partners.
Has your therapy animal retired or passed? We would be glad to share their story. Learn about submitting a tribute.
Sandye and Bosun were a Pet Partners team for 8 years. They visited so many facilities and events in their community, and loved every moment of their work together until Bosun retired in 2022.
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Linda adopted Sparky when she moved to a new city, and quickly realized he would be a great therapy dog. They served together for many rewarding years until Sparky retired in 2022.
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Allie was just three years old when she began serving with Marsha as a therapy dog team. She brought joy to a lot of people and touched many lives during those 13 years of service.
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Candy lived and volunteered with Dodger for more than a decade. It wasn’t until Dodger passed away that she realized the impact Dodger had, and what Dodger taught her.
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Puntino and Dannie announced their retirement in June 2022. In their eight years as a team, they brought feline comfort to many people, especially veterans.
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Marcy adopted Figgie to carry on the legacy of her previous therapy rabbit. Figgie introduced so many people to therapy rabbits and brought miles of smiles.
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Diane and Ella served southern Arizona as a Pet Partners team for 11 years, with Ella retiring at age 15. Ella’s exceptional effects as a therapy dog touched so many lives.
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Joan and Rosie were a Pet Partners team for eight years. Despite challenges from Rosie’s health and COVID-19, they were dedicated to their work, and remained so to the very end.
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Donna and Cora worked as a therapy animal team for 10 years in four states. This meant that they had wide-ranging impact in their work and touched lives in many places.
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Kenzie was afraid of everything when Deb rescued her. But with time and experience, she began to show love, and became a natural therapy dog.
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AnnRené & Jasmine visited with more than 4,800 people during their six years as a Pet Partners team. When cancer took Jasmine, AnnRené chose to honor her with a very special walk.
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Vincent was a great ambassador for therapy rats thanks to his laid-back personality and his love of people. He loved visiting others and many loved seeing him in his basket ready for the next adventure.
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Toby was always the tiniest therapy dog at the events he attended, but he was welcomed by everyone. He loved his work and it was wonderful to see the joy he brought to so many.
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Teddy was a tiny rescue dog who served as a therapy animal for less than three years. But neither his small size nor his short service time limited the impact he had on those he visited.
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Jack worked with Cyndie for many years, as both a volunteer therapy dog and a co-therapist in her professional practice. His dedication to Cyndie and their work was as big as his happy smile.
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Zamboni was a Samoyed, a breed renowned for their fluffy white coats and smiling expressions. She first registered as a therapy dog with handlers Lisa and Todd in 2009, and brought joy to countless people for more than a decade.
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Mark volunteered with both Spock and Eva. While the dogs were already in their golden years when they became therapy dogs, that didn’t stop them from making a difference in their community.
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Bruno didn’t have the right qualities to be a show dog, but he was exactly what Carole wanted. He did have the right qualities to be a therapy dog, and that was better than a blue ribbon.
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Todd & Butley had a unique career with much of their therapy animal work done on the road. Butley’s warm spirit and enthusiasm were a great example of what his breed has to offer.
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Halle Berry won everyone’s heart with her soulful eyes and happy tail. She truly adored people and especially children. She had a gentle spirit filled with love.
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Jessie was Eddye’s longest-serving therapy animal partner and the love of her life. Eddye talks about the sweet, soft, loving dog who touched countless hearts.
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When Susan became a therapy animal handler, she thought she would volunteer anywhere other than senior care and hospice. But Beau showed her the importance of this work and gave her a new calling.
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Deb & her partner Boo worked as a therapy animal team for nearly 13 years. Deb remembers the enormous difference this little dog made for everyone she visited.
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Quigley was a “unique little soul” who had a special ability to connect with folks.
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Winston the Wonder Dog was a precious “old soul” and had something very special about him: Cool, calm, collected and had a knack of almost reading your mind.
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Alan Koch & Maggie worked together for a decade, with a focus on acute-care HIV patients at Our House of Portland, as well as in stress relief and post-crisis support. Alan shares the story of how Maggie became a therapy dog and what she meant to their clients as well as to him.
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Hirschey was just eight weeks old when he entered Alex’s life. He was small in size, but he had an enormous impact on Alex and everyone they visited.
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Ariel was a therapy dog for more than 13 years; she made over 15,000 contacts in that time. Her handler Jan reflects on Ariel’s amazing life and how Ariel made a difference in the lives of humans and animals in need.
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Snow was a rescued Great Pyrenees with a pure heart and gentle soul. She will be greatly missed by everyone lucky enough to have known her.
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Sherman the potbellied pig was a therapy animal and advocate for therapy pigs for 15 years. His handler Priscilla remembers the powerful impact Sherman had on people.
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Paddy was adopted on July 27, 2010. Besides being our super sweet and silky-soft daughter, she was a Delta Therapy Dog and a member of Power Paws where she spent her free Saturdays at libraries reading with children. She was a special fur baby and amazingly sweet, especially considering the abuse she suffered early in her life.
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Duke was loved by many; it was unfortunate he experienced so many health issues so quickly. He was a ‘student’ at the high school where I teach health and physical education. I integrated him into my classes, and he even had his picture taken each year in the yearbook!
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In November, we had to say goodbye to our sweet Indie after a painful battle with intestinal cancer. He was truly the light of my life and immediately loved by all he met. I had never met such a gentle, calm soul in either human or animal before.
Aragon the cat, actor, comedian and social activist was 14 years old and a longtime resident of Laguna Beach, Calif. He passed away peacefully on December 12th at 1:15 p.m.
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Fiona, a Goldendoodle, was a therapy dog for 6 years and had an instinct for knowing who needed her and how to behave around them.
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Mabel became a therapy dog in order to share her gift of love with others and to help people in need. The name Mabel means “lovable” and she shared her love every day with everyone around her.
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Gryphon excelled as a therapy dog, as an ambassador for his breed, and as a Read With Me dog. Gryphon and his handler, Cathy Varidel, were a registered Pet Partners therapy animal team working with local group Compassionate Paws in Rome, GA for seven years.
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During Sadie’s 10 years of therapy work, she helped young students with improving their reading skills, made hospice visits, and participated in stress relief for college students during finals week. She loved this work and never hesitated when it was time for a visit.
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I don’t think Lego ever willfully did anything wrong. She was my constant companion and so sweet and loving. She had the most glorious soft coat and the most beautiful blue eyes. I think she knew she was my perfect little fur person.
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Cathy had never even thought about being a part of a pet therapy team until Bentley inspired her. His gentle soul and calm demeanor led them to the Wagtime program at Akron City Hospital in Akron, Ohio. They were a proud Pet Partners team for six years.
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Smudge, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was active in Piedmont Columbus Regional’s hospitals and at the John B. Amos Cancer Center as a member of the Play Paws Pet Therapy program for six years.
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Maggie #24 aka Maggie Moo, The Mags, Moo Moo, or just Moo was a pup who loved everyone so much that she clearly told Jamie, “I am a therapy dog!” So they registered as a therapy animal team.
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Daisy Pollock was born with a purpose. From her first Pet Partner evaluation at a year old to what would be her last evaluation at 10 years old, Daisy brought years of comfort and care to patients and staff at VCU Health in Richmond, VA.
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Cassie’s life was full and rich as much as she filled and enriched the lives of others. Wherever she went she was eager to greet everyone with a wagging tail and a nudge as if to say, “Please, it’s OK to pet me.” She adored children and the feeling was mutual.
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Murungu excelled with the patients, making him the perfect fit for Diana’s volunteer work in a hospice care setting. He knew intuitively what patients needed and when they’d had enough.
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One of Buddy’s last visits was a meaningful connection with a woman who had just lost her own golden retriever. Liz remembers this powerful visit.
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Sami shared Lexi with a local library and school for many years, and her passing has been remembered with a powerful legacy from those she helped.
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Simone connected with patients in a way that their healthcare providers or caregivers often could not. Wherever there was an emotional need, an empty space that needed a true, non-judgmental friend, Simone had the innate sense to help.
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