Love On A Leash - What We Do

A therapy pet's primary function is to brighten someone’s day. The majority of our members are involved in this social side of therapy work. Dogs and their owners visit nursing homes, hospitals and schools to provide emotional support. They put a smile on someone’s face, make their day a little brighter, or bring back a cherished memory.

Therapy dogs are privately owned and visit facilities on a regular basis. We do not raise and train dogs to be service or companion animals. At the end of a visit these animals go home with their owners. For the most part, our therapy pets are dogs; however, occasionally we have certified cats, and other animals who have shown that they like people and have the temperament to work with them.


	We provide training, evaluation and certification procedures for therapy pets and their owners. We work to increase public awareness of the benefits of pet provided therapy. We provide certified therapy pet visitations and provide guidance for the visits, promoting the bond between pets and people. We visit schools, day-care centers and special education classrooms providing an educational experience and a teaching tool. We work to generate smiles and memories and to provide comfort to those in need. As volunteers of Love on a Leash we take our family pets to visit residents in assisted living homes and Alzheimer’s facilities. We visit patients in hospitals and hospice care facilities. Some of our pets and owners work with special-education students, some with students with troubled pasts. Our volunteers work one-on-one with residents, patients and students. We also have groups who have banded together to put on dog trick performances for residents and patients. No matter where we are or who we work with, the end result is the same: we provide a moment of joy and a connection only a pet can provide. Paws to Read at the library: Beverly and Molly listen to a young reader Linda explaining to a group of young children what a therapy dog does.	What We Do \| What is Pet-Provided Therapy Quincy helping to educate the public at the Del Mar Fair. Maggie encouraging Valerie to exercise her hands. What is pet-provided therapy? A therapy pet's primary function is to brighten someone’s day. The majority of our members are involved in this social side of therapy work. Dogs and their owners visit nursing homes, hospitals and schools to provide emotional support. They put a smile on someone’s face, make their day a little brighter, or bring back a cherished memory. Therapy dogs are privately owned and visit facilities on a regular basis. We do not raise and train dogs to be service or companion animals. At the end of a visit these animals go home with their owners. For the most part, our therapy pets are dogs; however, occasionally we have certified cats, and other animals who have shown that they like people and have the temperament to work with them.
	What We Do \| What is Pet-Provided Therapy
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What is pet-provided therapy?