Pet therapy is the original term for what is now officially called Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) and Animal Assisted Activities (AAA). Pet Partners (formerly called Delta Society), is an internationally recognized organization for promoting, researching, and setting training and certification standards for AAT/AAA.
According to Pet Partners, AAT is, “a goal-directed intervention in which an animal that meets specific criteria is an integral part of the treatment process. AAT is directed and/or delivered by a health/human service professional with specialized expertise, and within the scope of practice of his/her profession.” (1). An example would be a physical therapist incorporating dog brushing into a treatment program to improve motor skills in a stroke patient. AAA is primarily a casual “meet and greet” activity where a handler/pet team meets and interacts with people. An example of AAA is taking a dog to a nursing home to cheer up the residents. Although most AAT/AAA animals are dogs, any well mannered, controlled, predictable, clean, socially outgoing animal (Dog, Cat, Guinea Pig, Rabbit, Domesticated Rat, Horse, Llama, Donkey, Cockatoo, African Gray Parrot) is a candidate. Exotic and farm animals are not accepted by most animal therapy groups. The human part of the AAT/AAA team should be outgoing, compassionate, and have good social skills.
The requirements for becoming a therapy team are determined by the facility you plan to visit. A decade or so ago the requirements were minimal – simply introduce yourself and your pet to the facility director and get their approval. Nowadays, for liability insurance purposes, most facilities require therapy teams to be certified by a nationally or regionally recognized organization. At the least, dogs should have an American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen certification. Many facilities also require that the handler/pet team be certified specifically for AAT/AAA. Achieving certification typically requires that the handler complete online or workshop based courses, a physical and behavioral health screening for the animal, a team evaluation by a certified evaluator, and registration paperwork and fees. Nationally recognized organizations that certify handler/pet teams include:
Pet Partners (https://www.deltasociety.org)
Therapy Dogs International (https://www.tdi-dog.org)
National Therapy Dog Registry (https://sites.google.com/site/nationaltherapydogregistry). This is a new and growing organization that includes rigorous behavior testing in their evaluation process.
A regionally recognized organization is Paws for People (https://www.pawsforpeople.org)
I brought my dog Rin (that’s her in the photo) to the Kent County Adult Medical Daycare facility once a week for seven years, until she retired in 2003. The clients loved her and Rin couldn’t wait to run through the door and visit the clients. She brought smiles to their faces, got them to laugh and talk, and brought dementia patients out of the past and into the current world. Those visits were fun and rewarding. If you are interested in doing AAT/AAA with your pet, I encourage you to learn more and work toward certification.
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.