Donate

Why animal therapy is a necessity

Therapy animals provide comfort, companionship, and emotional support to those in need. They can also perform essential tasks for those with disabilities. Their presence can create a safe space, fostering connections and alleviating feelings of loneliness and distress. Recent research shows that spending just 12 minutes with a dog can reduce stress and anxiety more effectively than being with other people or even alone. Below are the various types of service and therapy animals individuals can benefit from. Click on each one to learn more:

Service Animal

Therapy Animal

Assistance Animal

Comfort/Crisis Response Animal

Emotional Support Animal

Pet/Companion Animal

Working Animal

Founded on commitments of compassion and accessibility, The Healing Paws Network believes everyone should experience the benefits of animal therapy. We are the link between people in need and the resources to help them, supported by a nationwide network of therapy providers.

Search for a Provider

Do You Know these Common Myths and Misconceptions?

  • A service animal must wear a vest
  • A service animal will never bark
  • An individual with a service animal can only have one animal at a time
  • Only certain breeds of dogs can be service animals
  • A real service animal is certified or registered
  • Service animals don’t have to follow local laws to license or maintain requirements

Sources: ADAT

Service Animal

Defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service dogs are individually trained to perform specific tasks and to work with people with disabilities. 

According to the ADA, disabilities can be “physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disabilities.” The work of the service dog must be directly related to the handler’s disability.

The ADA mandates that service dogs have full public access rights, which means they’re allowed to go places where animals are typically forbidden. They can be brought into restaurants, stores, libraries, and other public spaces. They must be permitted in housing, even if other pets aren’t allowed.

Examples of service dogs include but are not limited to:

  • Guide dogs– helping those with visual impairments navigate the world
  • Hearing/signal dogs– alert people who have hearing impairments to sounds such as an alarm going off, a knock at the door, or someone approaching
  • Psychiatric dogs– help to detect the onset of and decrease the effects of a psychiatric episode such as for those with PTSD
  • Mobility dogs– help their handlers ambulate providing physical support and structure, may open doors, retrieve items, and carry objects
  • Diabetic alert dogs–  can recognize drops in blood sugar
  • Medical alert dogs– can help recognize the onset of seizures, for example, and can be trained to go for help or stand guard

Therapy Animal

An animal trained to play a role in a physical or emotional therapeutic treatment plan, as a horse helping a rider develop muscle tone or a dog providing cognitive engagement for nursing home residents:

  • Utilized in therapeutic settings
  • Trained, insured and licensed by the nonprofit offering the services
  • Do not have the same access to public spaces as protected under the ADA for service animals
  • No uniform state or national rules that regulate and certify therapy animals
  • Different organizations have different guidelines

Assistance Animal

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development an assistance animal is an animal that works, provides assistance, or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or that provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified effects of a person’s disability. An assistance animal is not a pet.

The main difference between an assistance animal and a service animal is that a service animal is trained to perform a specific task for a person with a disability, while an assistance animal can provide emotional support or reduce symptoms of a disability.

Comfort/Crisis Response Animal

Therapy animals that provide emotional support and companionship to people who have experienced a crisis or disaster.

Emotional Support Animal

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an emotional support animal is any animal that provides emotional support alleviating one or more symptoms or effects of a person’s disability. Emotional support animals provide companionship, relieve loneliness, and sometimes help with depression, anxiety, and certain phobias, but do not have special training to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities.

Pet/Companion Animal

Defined as any domesticated or tamed* animal that is kept as a companion and cared for affectionately or more commonly known as a pet.

*(of animals) changed from the wild or savage state, so as to be gentle and unafraid of humans; domesticated.

Working Animal

A working dog is a purpose-trained canine that learns and performs tasks to assist its human companions. Detection, herding, hunting, search and rescue, police, and military dogs are all examples of working dogs.