Pet Partners

Our Mission and History

Our mission is to improve human-health and wellbeing through the human-animal bond. 

Pet Partners is the leader in the therapy animal field for registering volunteer teams. Since 1977, we have supported tens of thousands of teams in making millions of meaningful visits across the country and around the world each year. Our volunteers ensure people have access to meaningful time with a therapy animal, and these experiences, known as animal-assisted interventions (AAI), provide comfort and healing to people who need it most. 

Decades of science and research have proven the benefits and effectiveness of therapy animal visits. Our approach takes this special connection and understanding to the next level. We create supportive environments for our teams by offering the highest quality preparation and an unmatched approach to evaluation and registration— allowing them to focus on sharing their amazing animals. Pet Partners also understands that interactions with many types of animals can be therapeutic, and we proudly register nine different appropriate types of animals for therapy visits.

Who We Support

Pet Partners believes that therapy animal visits allow us to better address challenges we all face, and that everyone benefits from building these dynamic relationships. It is part of our mission to create a connection with animals that uplifts others in their times of greatest need, when they are experiencing anxiety, loss, loneliness, and uncertainty. Our teams most often visit patients in hospitals, children learning to read, veterans working through PTSD, seniors in retirement communities, people in hospice, amongst many others.

"Jeannie and Josey came in to support my hospice patient at a very sad and dark time of her life. She was a young patient who had to move out of her home, leaving her beloved dog with a friend out of state. Jeannie was warm and friendly and Josey was so cuddly, loving and sweet. Our patient smiled the whole visit, giving lots of pets, and forgetting about her physical and emotional pain. She died soon after this visit but I will always be thankful for the peace and love Jeannie and Josey’s visit brought our patient and her family." - Natalie, RN

Why We Need You

Since Covid-19, Pet Partners has experienced an exponential increase in requests from facilities to schedule therapy animal visitations. Because the importance of improving mental health has bloomed in recent conversations, many people are looking into creative ways to support their community, including through the benefits of therapy animals. Our volunteers and their therapy animals are at the core of our work, providing comfort and healing to people who need it most. Pet Partners is working hard to educate and register more therapy animal teams throughout the country in order to meet this growth in demand. 

While some people were born to be doctors, lawyers, or rock stars, some animals were born to be therapy animals—comforting strangers, building community, and bringing joy to all they visit. The greatest role we can play is giving the animals in our lives the opportunity to share their unconditional love with the people who need it most. Whether or not you have a pet, we can all improve human health and well-being by making therapy animal visits possible—spreading hope and healing to more people. With your support, we can build a future filled with happier, healthier communities through greater access to safe and effective therapy animal visits.