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“Therapy animals visit all kinds of settings in local communities to offer comfort, affection and a calming, non-judgmental presence”

“Most therapy animals are dogs and sometimes cats, but rabbits, guinea pigs and even ponies can also volunteer with some charities”

“Volunteering to visit a setting with your pet is an extremely rewarding way of getting involved in your community”

“When you register your pet with a charity, the organisation assesses the animal to make sure their behaviour and temperament is right for a therapy role”

There are 5,443 PAT dogs and 30 PAT cats registered with Pets as Therapy
(Pets as Therapy, Summary of Activity 2023-2024).

In 2023-2024, 5,667 establishments received a PAT visit
(Pets as Therapy, Summary of Activity 2023-2024).

There are 5,721 PAT volunteers registered with Pets as Therapy
(Pets as Therapy, Summary of Activity 2023-2024).

 

What do all these animals have in common: Reggie, the Lionesses’ unofficial mascot; cuddle sessions with guinea pigs for university students; and therapy dogs at some UK airports? The answer is they all provide invaluable emotional support for humans in times of need.

But it’s not just England footballers, stressed-out students and nervous flyers who can benefit from the power of animal therapy. Therapy animals visit all kinds of settings in local communities to offer comfort, affection and a calming, non-judgmental presence. These settings vary from hospices, hospitals and care homes, through to prisons, schools and even corporate workplaces – and the recipients of visits are people of all ages.

 

The benefits of therapy animals

It’s scientifically proven that the simple action of stroking an animal can lower your blood pressure, slow down your heartbeat and release endorphins (‘happy hormones’). This, in turn, lowers your stress levels and reduces anxiety and depression. You will probably already be aware of the stress-busting powers of animals if you have a pet at home.

Imagine, then, how beneficial a visit from an animal is to care-home residents who enjoyed the companionship of a pet in the past but can no longer have one. Or to long-term patients in hospital whose pets are at home and cannot be brought in; or to terminally-ill hospice patients for whom a visit can bring unbridled joy and happiness.

You may be surprised to hear that there are several ‘read to a dog’ schemes around the country that schools can sign up for. But dogs are excellent listeners! When children read aloud to a non-judgmental visiting therapy dog in a relaxed atmosphere, it boosts their confidence and can increase their literacy and communication skills. Therapeutic visits from an animal are particularly beneficial in Special Educational Needs (SEN) schools.

Many charities have partnerships with prisons, under which prisoners have the opportunity to engage regularly with visiting therapy dogs. Offenders see it as a calming, positive experience, and it becomes something they look forward to; therapy dogs are especially important to prisoners who have mental health issues, learning disabilities, autism or dementia.

In the corporate workplace, forward-thinking companies are increasingly taking steps to protect the mental health of their employees. Visits from therapy animals can be an important part of this goal.

 

Therapy animals at work

So how does pet therapy work? Put simply, volunteers and their animals register with a charity that offers therapeutic animal visits (a small annual fee is charged for this). Most therapy animals are dogs and sometimes cats, but rabbits, guinea pigs and even ponies can also volunteer with some charities.

There are two well-known national charities dedicated to pet therapy: Pets As Therapy (https://petsastherapy.org/) and Therapy Dogs Nationwide (https://tdn.org.uk/). In Scotland, there is also Therapet (https://www.therapet.org.uk/who-we-are/therapet-visting-service), part of Canine Concern Scotland Trust.

There are also smaller non-profit organisations or charities that cover specific areas of the country, supporting their local communities, such as Dogs for Health in parts of Somerset and Wiltshire (https://dogsforhealth.org.uk/), and Hope’s Therapy Dogs in the north-west (www.hopestherapydogs.co.uk/).

 

Could your pet be a therapy animal?

Volunteering to visit a setting with your pet is an extremely rewarding way of getting involved in your community. For example, you may already know of a local care home whose residents would greatly benefit from the companionship, comfort and affection offered by a therapy animal.

If you’re interested in volunteering to visit somewhere in your local community with your pet, bear in mind that you need to have owned the animal for at least six months before registering with a charity, and it must be at least twelve months old.

When you register your pet with a charity, the organisation assesses the animal to make sure their behaviour and temperament is right for a therapy role. For example, dogs must like fuss and attention from people and be happy to approach them. They should be well trained with a calm, laid-back temperament, and they should not be bothered by loud, sudden noises or lots of people. They must also be happy to stay on a fixed lead at all times during a visit (not a flexi lead).

One of the reasons that volunteers must register with a pet therapy charity is to make sure they have appropriate insurance in place before undertaking a visit. You can’t just make an informal arrangement to visit a care home that you know without insurance; any visit must be made under the auspices of a charity. You may also be required to agree to a DBS check before you can start visiting.

The rules for arranging visits to settings vary depending on the charity. Some will expect you to contact the place you want to visit direct, while other organisations will make the arrangements themselves or provide you with the name of a setting that has requested a visit from a therapy animal.

In addition to keeping your pet safe during a visit, you need to be willing to chat to the people your pet approaches and to listen to them carefully too. You’ll find that a therapy animal is a wonderful ice-breaker in this regard.

When you volunteer with your pet, it’s important to remember that visits to a setting should be regular, perhaps every other week. In this way, the people in the care home, hospice or hospital get to know your pet and look forward to their visits. Sometimes it’s possible to team up with another volunteer and visit on alternate weeks so that residents see a therapy animal every week. In any case, you should think about the level of commitment that you’re willing to make and try not to promise what you can’t stick to.

Remember that your pet could help a patient with dementia to unlock their own memories of animals they have owned; brighten the day of a resident who doesn’t get many visitors; or simply calm someone who is anxious and in need of emotional support.

 

Assistance animals and therapy animals

You may have heard of the terms ‘assistance animal’ and ‘therapy animal’. To be clear, there is a distinct difference between the two. Assistance animals have been rigorously trained specifically to help someone with a disability or a medical condition, for example, a guide dog for blind or visually impaired people; a hearing dog for those who are deaf or hard of hearing; or a medical alert dog trained especially to detect conditions like seizures or type 1 diabetes. Assistance animals have public access accreditation and cannot be refused entry to public places by law.

Therapy animals are not usually formally trained as they are well-behaved pets. They do not have access rights to public places and cannot turn up unannounced at a setting; they must be invited to visit.