Therapy and Visiting Pet Research Checklist

What kind of information on therapy pets are you trying to find? Use the checklist to make sure your research has been complete.

• How to get my pet registered to visit.
• How to train my pet for visiting.
• How to find a volunteer group to visit a facility.
• People to interview for a thesis or academic paper.
• Studies on the benefits of pet visits.
• Information on how the visit affects the dog or other pet.
• The type of animal that is best for a visiting pet
• Career opportunities.
• Rehabilitation programs for teen or prisoners.

How to get my pet registered to visit.

1. Contacted each of the national organizations that register pets for visits to get their requirements.
• Pet Partners Programs
• Therapy Dogs Incorporated
• Therapy Dogs International, Inc.
• The Foundation for Pet Provided Therapy, Inc. (AKA Love on a Leash)
• The Bright & Beautiful Therapy Dogs, Inc.
  
2. Checked the resources page for additional organizations.
3. Looked on the web page links list and find a group to join list for organizations in my area.
4. Used my browser's "find on page" or "search page" feature to check those pages for organizations in my area.

How to train my dog for visiting.

1. Read the page on getting ready to visit.
2. Read some of the books listed on the books page.
3. Checked each link on the resources page for organizations that provide training materials or classes.
4. Looked on the web page links list for organizations in my area that can direct me to local training resources.
5. Used my browser's "find on page" or "search page" feature to check those pages for organizations in my area.
6. Checked my local phone directory for humane societies and dog training clubs. Contacted organizations within 50 miles to get information on whether they have appropriate training programs.

How to find a volunteer group to visit a facility.

1. Checked the "Find a Group to Join" page for groups near me.
2. Contacted each of the national organizations to ask if they have local groups or chapters.
• Pet Partners Programs
• Therapy Dogs Incorporated
• Therapy Dogs International, Inc.
• The Foundation for Pet Provided Therapy, Inc. (AKA Love on a Leash)
• The Bright & Beautiful Therapy Dogs, Inc.
  
3. Looked on the web page links list for organizations in my area.
4. Used my browser's "find on page" or "search page" feature to check those pages for organizations in my area.
5. Checked my local phone directory for humane societies and dog training clubs. Contacted organizations within 50 miles to get information on whether they can refer me to pet visiting programs in the area.

Looking for people to interview for a thesis or academic paper.

*Note: Many groups will no longer even respond to email surveys because too many ask the same questions, which have already been thoroughly researched. If you want a good quality paper you need to make sure what you are asking is worth taking time to answer. And that starts with doing basic research to avoid contacting people who are clearly the wrong resource.

1. Checked the academic literature to learn what has been studied, and how it has been studied.
• Pet Partners
• Latham Foundation
• Human-Animal Interactions Literature
  
2. Contacted the universities and colleges offering animal assisted therapy programs to get ideas and guidance on a study that adds to the current knowledge, and how to "qualify" the people answering the questions so that information is academically useful.
3. Read some of the books listed on the books page.
4. Researched the different kind of pet visiting programs so I'm not asking questions of someone who does "meet and greet" when my study needs people doing AAT.
• Pet Partners
5. Thoroughly read the web site or program literature of groups or people to identify whether the person I'm contacting has the kind of information that will contribute to my study.
6. Looked on the web page links list for organizations in my area I can contact for observation of visits.
7. Used my browser's "find on page" or "search page" feature to check those pages for organizations in my area.
8. Checked my local phone directory for humane societies and dog training clubs. Contacted organizations within 50 miles to get information on whether they can refer me to pet visiting programs in the area.

Studies on the benefits of pet visits.

1. Checked the academic literature to learn what has been studied, and how it has been studied.
• Pet Partners
• Latham Foundation
• Human-Animal Interactions Literature
  
2. Read some of the books listed on the books page.
3. Looked on the research links list for additional information and resources.
4. Used my browser's "find on page" or "search page" feature to check those pages for organizations in my area.

Information on how the visit affects the dog or other pet.

1. Checked the academic literature to learn what has been studied, and how it has been studied.
• Pet Partners
• Human-Animal Interactions Literature
  
2. Read some of the books listed on the books page.
3. Looked on the research links list for additional information and resources.
4. Used my browser's "find on page" or "search page" feature to check those pages for organizations in my area.

The type of animal that is best for a visiting pet

1. Read the page on evaluating your pet.
2. Read some of the books listed on the books page.

Career opportunities.

1. Contacted the universities and colleges offering animal assisted therapy programs to get ideas and guidance.
2. Read the FAQ.

Rehabilitation programs for teen or prisoners.

1. Read the page on therapy animals in rehabilitation programs.
2. Checked the academic literature to learn what has been studied, and how it has been studied.
• Pet Partners
• Latham Foundation
• Human-Animal Interactions Literature
  
3. Read some of the books listed on the books page.

Check the other articles on therapy dogs, visiting pets and related topics.

Also see Books and Publications - How to train your dog, how to start a program, and more.
Help finding information of visiting pets and therapy dogs
Lost? PageList lists all the DogPlay pages. Check the Help page.