Animals often bring out the best in people. They can calm hyperactive children or stimulate movement and interaction in those with physical disabilities. The Pet Encounter Therapy (PET) program brings the unconditional love and tactile benefits of animals to people in a variety of settings– skilled nursing facilities, children’s shelters, hospitals, psychiatric units and many more. Groups also have the option to visit the Center for on-site programs. Staff and volunteers take dogs, cats, rabbits, birds and guinea pigs to visit more than 50 facilities a month, with many organizations on our waiting list. Studies document that holding and caressing an animal provides benefits such as relaxation, lower blood pressure, improved long- and short-term memory, and sensory stimuli. During our PET visits, we’ve seen movement from unresponsive patients or heard words spoken for the first time– all to the amazement of fellow residents and staff members.
Pet Encounter Therapy
Bringing Unconditional Love through Human-Animal Interaction
Your Help Is Needed!
Like the rest of the Center, PET relies on private donations to fund the program. Very little revenue is generated by PET because services are offered free of charge to non-profit facilities and charge only a $27 to $47 fee per visit for other facilities; revenues generated only pay about one-twentieth of the department’s operating budget. Currently, we have a long waiting list of facilities to visit and need additional funding before we can expand our service. In addition to one-time donations, donors also have the opportunity to sponsor a facility, an animal in the program or support the program for an entire year! These sponsor opportunities are also available to corporations looking to make a difference in their community.
All donations are fully tax deductible as permitted by law.
PET Success Stories
Dog Helps Alzheimer’s Patient Communicate We were visiting a convalescent center in Escondido when a volunteer entered a room and noticed a personal nurse helping dress an elderly man. The nurse explainedthe gentleman was in the late stages of Alzheimer’s and no longer spoke coherently. Our volunteer went to the man’s side, hoping he would at least be able to pet the dog. As the man saw the dog, he reached down and stroked the dog calling him “Butchy” over and over again. The nurse didn’t understand this reference and said that he was probably just confused. The next month, the volunteer made sure to stop by this man’s room. The nurse was excited to see her. She said that she had relayed what the man had said to his family and they told her he had owned a dog named “Butchy” 20 years ago who closely resembled the volunteer’s dog. This PET visit not only helped to bring back a wonderful memory, but it also helped the man to speak again and to be understood.
Animals Don’t Need a Reason To Help With more than 50 off-site visits each month, it’s easy to imagine how many clients we meet and the variety of illnesses and challenges they face. On occasion, the client will share what they are dealing with, but for the vast majority of interactions, we have no information beyond the fact that these people need the special love of our animals. And we don’t really need to know any more to help them heal. A wonderful example is a teen girl at the high school that we visit. We arrived at the school a few months back, and the principal asked that we first visit a girl who was having a terrible day. He led us to a small room where a girl was huddled under a blanket, and it looked like she had been crying. We didn’t ask anything except “would you like to see our dogs?” She threw off the blanket and dropped to the floor and started hugging and petting the dogs and thanked them for making her feel better. We saw her again the following month, and she had cuts and bruises all over her face. Again, we learned nothing more than she was having a really rough day. She told us that she couldn’t believe that the dogs where there when she needed them most and again sat on the floor to get as close to them as possible. We can only imagine what that young girl is going through and what we can do to help her. The beautiful thing is that the dogs don’t need to imagine, they just help.
Dog Sparks Movement in Unresponsive Man “My dog Hudson, a 9-year-old Italian Greyhound, and I make regular PET visits at senior facilities around San Diego. We’ve been witness to many memorable moments, but some are extra special. Once, we were visiting Hospice patients at a large hospital when we entered the room of a tall, fragile, elderly gentleman, motionless on the bed, eyes closed, surrounded by his family. We were welcomed in and asked by his daughter if it would be OK to place Hudson on the bed, adding that her dad always loved dogs. I laid Hudson at her dad’s side, letting him snuggle gently. After several moments, Hudson raised his head looking for attention and then softly rested it on the gentleman’s hand. Almost immediately, the man began to slowly raise his hand to pet Hudson’s head, now stretched across the man’s chest. It was a long visit, but Hudson lay content being gently scratched. The man never opened his eyes. Looking up at the end of the visit, I was concerned when I realized that everyone around me was crying. Outside the room, a nurse was waiting to tell me that this patient, until now, had been completely unresponsive since his arrival at Hospice almost two weeks earlier. This memory will live with me for a very long time. Thank you, Hudson.”
PET Gets Creative to Fulfill Unique Request “Do you have a therapy skunk that can visit my husband?” As the PET manager for more than 23 years, I thought I had heard every kind of therapy visit request. But as I sat and listened to my voicemail, I had to admit that this made me laugh out loud considering that most skunks are not very therapeutic. I called the number back to find out that an elderly woman was calling on behalf of her husband who was in Hospice. She wanted a skunk to visit because he had dearly loved a pet skunk as a boy. I told her that we didn’t have a skunk, but we did have a sweet Pomeranian who would be happy to come and visit. We worked out the details and set a date for the following week. Still, I kept thinking about the request for a skunk and realized that we could still make it work. We just needed a skunk costume that would fit, and voila! Mr. Balonee the Pomeranian was ready to work. As soon as we entered the door, the man saw Balonee and started to laugh out loud and excitedly told us all about his pet skunk. He spent the next half hour showing us pictures of his skunk, taking photos with Balonee and petting his soft fur. The visit was a success! 
Frequently Asked Questions about PET
What are the benefits of animal-assisted therapy? We would love to see if your dog would enjoy this type of work! Any type of dog, whether it is purebred or a blend, is welcome. The important thing is that the dog loves people, is neutral with other dogs and small animals, and trained well enough to enjoy and behave in new and strange surroundings. We do like the dogs to be at least 1 – 1/2 years of age and altered. Your dog will also need to be screened by your vet for any health issues as well as to verify current vaccines. If this sounds like a good match for your dog then please contact PET staff to set up a time for an assessment.
The program provides opportunities for people with special needs to experience the benefits of human-animal interaction. Along with being enjoyable for the people we visit, the interactions can also provide stress reduction, relaxation, lowered blood pressure, increased attention span, increased memory recall, and improved self esteem. Benefits for the PET animals include a work schedule of one hour each day with the next day off, the love of hundreds of people and the best care and housing available. Benefits for our volunteers and staff are the satisfaction of truly touching the lives of the people we visit.
What animals do you use in the PET program, and where do they come from?
We have a large variety of animals — from dogs and cats, to rabbits, guinea pigs, snakes, and birds — working with volunteers in our program. Many of our volunteers use their own animals in our program while others, who may not have an appropriate animal at home, use the small animals housed at the Center for this purpose. Most of these small animals come from backgrounds of neglect or abandonment and are rehabilitated into the program. Only animals that enjoy the work are accepted into our program.
What type of facilities does the PET program visit?
We visit any facility that has a client population that can benefit from animal interactions. Currently, we travel to psychiatric hospitals, skilled nursing centers, Alzheimer’s units, emergency children’s shelters, adolescent behavior centers, senior centers, and hospital sub-acute units.
How can I volunteer in the program?
Start by filling out a Volunteer Application and attend a Volunteer Orientation held here at the Center. After the orientation a PET staff member will contact you to discuss the program and to make sure this is the right match. Next you will attend a training session and then accompany the PET manager on your first few visits. We ask our volunteers to work at least one three-hour shift each week with a 6-month commitment.
Can my dog participate in the program?
How can my family member, who lives in a senior center, receive a visit?
If you feel your family member and his/her fellow residents would benefit from our program, please have the activity director of that facility call our Center for further details.
Rootbeer and Edward, two of our PET therapy animals, are sharing their special story in a wonderful book called Mini Horses, Mighty Hearts. A portion of the proceeds from the book sales will be donated to the PET program. “Hi friends! We invite you to expand your world, confront your fears, learn new skills, and meet wonderful people and animals as you read our surprising story. In it we share our playful times and challenging adventures. You’ll find out how we discovered our special purpose, too. Before you know it, you’ll see that even though we are miniature horses, we are a lot like you. Let’s go!” Visit rootbeerandedward.com.
THANK YOU!
Special thanks to:
- Steve and Sharron MacDonald Family Foundation
- Promises2Kids
- Charity Fair Horse Show
- Bell Charitable Foundation
GET IN CONTACT WITH US!
Office Hours:
7:45 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday
*Visits scheduled by appointment only. Call or email for more information.
Pet Encounter Therapy Manager
Robin Cohen
P.O. Box 64, 6523 Helen Woodward Way
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
858-756-4117 ext. 322