Are visits resuming at your facility? Pet Partners’ infection prevention guidelines are designed to minimize the risk of spreading all unwanted germs, including COVID-19. Learn more about our standards and safety protocols.

Thousands of facilities have opened their doors to Pet Partners therapy animal teams. Well-trained and thoroughly screened handlers and their animals can benefit the health and well-being of people in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, retirement communities, rehabilitation centers, and many other facilities. Why not yours?

Why Choose Pet Partners for Your Therapy Animal Needs?

• The leading therapy animal organization in the United States, widely recognized as the gold standard of therapy animal programs, currently expanding internationally.
• $2M comprehensive general liability insurance for all volunteers.
• Required handler education including topics such as confidentiality, infection control, effective communication, and handling best practices.
• Background checks performed as part of the registration process assure facilities that a handler’s history does not preclude them from visiting with vulnerable populations.
• Team re-evaluation every two years to ensure the suitability of the animal as they mature.
• Comprehensive continuing education available to handlers, including topics such as working with veterans and clients with Alzheimer’s.
• Stringent infection control protocols, including thorough grooming standards, required hand hygiene before and after any interaction, and the exclusion of raw meat diets.
• Not just therapy dogs: Pet Partners carefully evaluates nine different species types through our Therapy Animal Program, expanding your possible pool of therapy teams to include cats, horses, rabbits, birds, guinea pigs, rats, and even mini pigs and llamas!
• Read With Me™ special initiative supports safe and effective interactions for reading and literacy programs.
• Walk With Me™ special initiative promotes physical activity in your patients or residents by walking with a therapy animal.

While there are many local, regional, and even national groups that can provide therapy animal visits, Pet Partners has the highest standards in the field for our registered therapy animal teams, ensuring both safe and effective visits in the community.

Get Started

Is Our Therapy Animal Program in Your Area?

This search will tell you how many therapy animal teams are in your area. Keep in mind some teams will be willing to travel farther than others to make visits. If you are not seeing any active volunteers near you, please contact us for help.
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Facility Tool Kit

Are you ready to welcome therapy animal teams to interact with your clients? Request this free facility tool kit with practical tips and tricks for starting a visitation program or growing the presence of therapy animals at your facility.
Request the tool kit

Virtual Therapy Animal Visits

While it is impossible to replace the emotional connection people share with pets and therapy animals during face-to-face interactions, Pet Partners recognizes that there may be times when therapy animal visits are impractical or unviable, perhaps due to geographic distance or human health issues that disallow in-person meetings. In these situations, there is still room to incorporate the healing power of the human-animal bond through virtual therapy animal visits. Download the Pet Partners Facility Guide for Virtual Visits today.
Download the Guide

Become a Premier Facility Partner

Pet Partners offers a special sponsorship program designed specifically for facilities called our Premier Facility Partner program. Our partner facilities that invest in the Pet Partners mission receive many exclusive benefits including the administration of a comprehensive and ongoing handler recruitment program.

Post a Therapy Animal Team Volunteer Opportunity

Enter basic information about your specific volunteer opportunity you create a free listing that becomes searchable to all our registered therapy animal teams across the country. Interested volunteers in your area will be able to contact you directly. Post your event now.

Reach Out to Local Groups

Pet Partners has groups of locally organized volunteers who may be in your area. Check the Community Partner Directory and contact them to express interest in starting therapy animal visits.

Corporate Therapy Animal Opportunities

Do you have a special request where you would like Pet Partners teams to participate at your upcoming corporate convention, industry expo, employee event, or something similar? Learn more about our Sponsored Visit Program.

AAI for Professionals

Are you an AAI/AAT practitioner interested in incorporating therapy animals in your practice? Learn more about the Association of Animal-Assisted Intervention Professionals (AAAIP).

A Note About Insurance and Background Checks

All Pet Partners teams who are in good standing and following Pet Partners policies and procedures have the benefit of our $2 million general liability insurance. A team can present a current copy of the insurance certificate upon the facility’s request.

Certificates of additional insured may be issued to a facility on a limited basis for the purposes of an ongoing, Pet Partners-branded therapy animal program. Certificates of additional insured are not available for one-time events. Mutual indemnification is usually required. Allow at least 4-6 weeks for coordination prior to program start.

A copy of Pet Partners’ background check policy is available upon request.