Animal-assisted therapy (AAT), also known as pet therapy, utilizes trained animals and handlers to achieve specific physical, social, cognitive, and emotional goals with patients (GALE CENGAGE Learning, 2009). Some of the earliest uses of animal-assisted healing in the United States were for psychiatric patients. The presence of the therapy animals produced a beneficial effect on both children and adults with mental health issues. It is only in the last few decades that AAT has been more formally applied in a variety of therapeutic settings, including schools and prisons, as well as hospitals, hospices,nursing homes, and outpatient care programs cited from (www.healthline.com/galecontent/pet-therapy/3)

Currently, Bella Rosa and Bailey Ray are the first animal friends of UCP. Bella Rosa is a black and white Shih tzu and is almost 2 years old. Bailey Ray is a brown and white Shih tzu and is just 1 year old. Our new animal friends will visit our day programs twice a month. Lastly, UCP looks forward to building a partnership with local Humane Society.

UCP welcomed two kittens (Mr. Spice and Ms. Ginger)from Humane Society. The partnership with Humane Society become a sucess in offering sensory stimulations, independence and programming opportunities for individuals with disability through this pet therapy.
I encourage you to take a look the recent photo’s with our new friends interacting with our individuals!

Dawn Carter, Executive Director