There are a wide variety of benefits of the human-animal bond. The following are commonly cited as beneficial in school settings:

• Interactions with therapy animals improve social skills among peers, reduce stress and anxiety and increase endorphins.
• Children experience better focus and confidence while learning with therapy animals present.
• Children who are learning to read are often shy or hesitant about their abilities. When reading to a therapy animal, research shows children feel at ease because animals are just there to listen- not to judge how well they are reading.
• For more research on the benefits of pets in the classroom, visit: Dogs in the Classroom Research

There are many benefits to having therapy animal teams visit with students. Establish your goals and be ready to share these with the handler(s) who may visit your classroom in the future:

• Social/emotional goals – self-esteem, acceptance from others, stress reduction
• Academic/cognitive goals – time with therapy animals can stimulate memory, focus and problem solving
• Structured interactions – special lesson plans, ranging from units on life science to teaching empathy, or reading programs
• Informal interactions – allowing children the opportunity to express themselves to the team and pet the therapy animal without specific learning objectives

It will be helpful to know a bit about Pet Partners standards and policies as you approach your school’s administration for permission to welcome in therapy animal teams. Pet Partners therapy animal teams make millions of safe and effective visits each year. Thousands of facilities have opened their doors to these well-trained and thoroughly screened handlers and their animals. Pet Partners requires the following of all teams for them to register:

• Completion of Therapy Animal Handler Course, which educates handlers in topics such as effective communication, and animal handling best practices.
• In-person evaluation of each team (combination of one handler and one animal) by a licensed team evaluator to ensure their suitability for making visits. Only teams that pass the evaluation may register with Pet Partners, and teams must re-evaluate every two years to renew their registrations.
• Health screening of the animals to minimize risk of transmitting disease.

All Pet Partners teams who are in good standing and following Pet Partners policies and procedures have the benefit of the organization’s general liability insurance.

Parents and guardians are sometimes concerned about potential allergic reactions to dogs or that their child has a fear or phobia of dogs. It is important that you let parents know that interactions with the therapy animals will be voluntary, and families are allowed to decide whether they would like to participate. The visits should be held where unwanted contact with the animal can be easily avoided.

Concerns about the potential for any injury or risk may also arise. Pet Partners teams are regularly evaluated to have the appropriate temperament and handlers are trained to proactively guide, and when necessary, end an interaction. Stringent infection control protocols are in place including thorough grooming standards and required hand hygiene before and after any interaction.

• Determine how families/children will opt out of the visits if that is their preference.
• Establish a plan for how students, families and staff will be informed of when a therapy animal will be on site.
• Decide where it is best for therapy animal teams to enter and exit the building and where therapy animals can relieve themselves outdoors. Consider a pre-visit so the handler can familiarize themself with these visit details.
• With your therapy animal hander, review policies and procedures both from your school/classroom and from Pet Partners, so everyone knows what to expect.
• Work collaboratively with your therapy animal team to plan interactions. You know what works for your students and the handler know what works for their animal. Together you can come up with the most successful approach for everyone!
• Commit to learning from each visit with a debrief between teacher and handler.

Your feedback is important to us! We want to hear about your experience as it helps us assess how we can improve the program in future school years.

For more resources to help you learn about the Dogs in the Classroom program, visit our Dogs in the Classroom Resources page.

Please note: We will make every effort to partner you with a therapy animal team however Pet Partners is run by volunteers and there is no guarantee that we can match you with a team in your area.