Pet Therapy

To become a registered Pet Partners team, both the animal and handler must meet education and performance qualifications. Handlers must take training and pass a written test of knowledge about how to share their animal appropriately with various client populations. The animal must pass a veterinary health screening. The handler and animal together must pass a skills and aptitude evaluation to see if they’re suited for this kind of work.

This process is repeated every two years to maintain the quality of the Pet Partners team. Click here to see pictures of Denise and Black Jack during their Pet Partners evaluation.

Spirit visiting at the Oak Grove Nursing Home.

Individuals at our visits gain valuable animal socialization skills and education with regards to horses and how best to care for and interact with them.

Anyone who has ever owned a pet knows the meaning of “emotional connection.” We love it when our dogs greet us at the door when we come home, when our cats tell us their food bowls are empty, or when our horses rub their heads on our back. They don’t lie, they don’t judge, they don’t hate – they make us feel better and improve our health.

Did you know that research studies have shown…

• Loving a pet helps lower your stress.
• By having a family pet in your house your chances of surviving the first year after a heart attack is eight times greater!
• Families who adopt a pet feel better and are happier within the first year.
• Doctors actually prescribe visits with animals for their coma patients and that these visits are recognized as a contributing factor in the patients coming out of their comas.
• Pet owners have fewer minor health issues; lowering their medical costs.
• When a pet visits shut-in seniors they can help the person overcome feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Black Jack and his Cowboy buddy at the Wellsville Retirement Home.