National Therapy Animal Day takes place every year on April 30. Pet Partners shares how you can get involved.
In this bonus episode of Therapy Dog Talk, I sat down with Elisabeth Van Every, Senior Communications Specialist and Managing Editor of Pet Partners, for a conversation about National Therapy Animal Day and how you can join in the celebration. Pet Partners founded National Therapy Animal Day in 2015 to raise awareness about the important work of therapy animals and to build standards in the industry.
Elisabeth shared her role at Pet Partners and her dog Fezzik’s training journey. We talked about the importance of the handler-animal relationship and the YAYABA™ (You are your animal’s best advocate!) principle in pet therapy work. We also discussed how Pet Partners emphasizes evidence, safety, health, and medical principles, and their affiliations with international organizations that help them adapt to new findings.
We learned about the nine types of species Pet Partners registers and their sister organization, the Association of Animal-Assisted Intervention Professionals (AAAIP). Our conversation also touched on the ratings for Pet Partners Therapy Animal teams and the importance of a handler’s adaptability.
We wrapped up with a discussion about National Therapy Animal Day and its purpose in celebrating the human-animal bond and therapy teams’ work in their communities. Elisabeth shared her personal experience with therapy dogs working with veterans and her hopes for the future of animal-assisted interventions.
After listening to this episode, you’ll have a greater understanding of National Therapy Animal Day and the incredible work therapy animals do. Don’t forget to share your stories and get involved in your community!
In this episode, we discuss …
- When National Therapy Animal Day began and why it exists.
- How evidence and standards for human-animal interactions matter and what Pet Partners is doing to stay up to date and participate in the research on an international level.
- What Elisabeth hopes to see in the future of animal-assisted interventions.
Key moments you won’t want to miss:
- [02:05] Elisabeth talks about her job at Pet Partners, where she shares stories of therapy animal teams.
- [04:15] We discuss the screening and credentialing process that ensures pet therapy teams can safely visit people.
- [05:43] The YAYABA™ principle is explained, emphasizing the importance of the handler-animal relationship in pet therapy work.
- [09:29] Pet Partners’ focus on evidence, safety, health, and medical principles leads to courses endorsed by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).
- [13:30] Affiliations with AAII, IAHAIO, and ISAZ help Pet Partners adapt their programs based on new evidence and findings.
- [15:34] Pet Partners registers nine types of species, with dogs making up about 92% of their total registrations.
- [17:20] Elisabeth talks about the new sister organization, Association of Animal-Assisted Intervention Professionals (AAAIP).
- [27:20] We discuss the difference between Predictable and Complex ratings for Pet Partners Therapy Animal teams.
- [32:39] National Therapy Animal Day celebrates the human-animal bond and the work therapy teams do in their communities.
- [39:37] Elisabeth shares her experience with therapy dogs helping veterans and her hopes for the future of animal-assisted interventions.
I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I do. Give it a watch or a listen and then let me know in the community which part you found the most helpful!
Mentioned in this episode:
- Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)
- Animal Assisted Intervention International (AAII)
- International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations (IAHAIO)
- The International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ)
- Association of Animal-Assisted Intervention Professionals (AAAIP)
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