Canine Assisted Therapy, Inc. Information

Canine Assisted Therapy (C.A.T.) is a 501(c)(3) human services organization formed in 2009 to provide qualified, dependable and caring pet therapy teams to those who need comfort, companionship or the unconditional love of a dog. Specially trained teams support medical staff to promote healing, support children with special needs, veterans, trauma victims, and pediatric cancer patients. We seek to provide superior education and support to volunteers and the facilities we serve. Our continuing education programs are open to volunteers of any pet therapy organization, for we wish to enhance the entire pet therapy community with our efforts. We provide guidance to healthcare and educational entities to implement or improve therapy animal programs within their facilities. C.A.T. pet therapy teams provide both animal-assisted activities (AAA) and animal-assisted therapy (AAT). AAA is defined as pet-centered visitation programs to enhance the life quality or support educational programs in a variety of environments such as hospitals, special needs day care, retirement homes or reading intervention programs. AAT is goal-oriented treatment utilizing specially trained pet/handler teams to achieve specific physical, social, cognitive, or emotional goals with patients. AAT facilitates healing and improves self-esteem, lifts morale and reduces stress of patients and staff alike.