The PAWSitive Therapy Troupe is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to sharing registered therapy dogs with individuals in a wide variety of health care and educational settings--bringing comfort, support and encouragement through the unique healing power of the human-animal bond.
A Community Partner of Pet Partners
Our Troupe therapy dogs and their owners are following federal and state guidelines and STAYING HOME during this time of crisis. Visits to all of our facilities are on hold indefinitely until we are invited to come back. In the meantime, please enjoy a video message from some very lonely therapy dogs by clicking the PLAY button above.
Troupe Member of the Month - Ula Wojdyla and Benny
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The PAWSitive Therapy Troupe is an Animal-Assisted Activities and Therapy program designed to share registered therapy dogs with patients and students in a variety of health care and educational settings.
Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA) share registered therapy dogs with patients or students in a variety of activities such as individual bedside visits, entertaining demonstrations or educational sessions. Animal- Assisted Activities are not necessarily goal-directed, but they are nonetheless certainly therapeutic in nature.
Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) is goal-directed intervention in which a therapy dog is an integral part of the clinical treatment process. It is directed by a licensed health care or education professional with specialized expertise and within the scope of his or her profession. AAT is designed to promote improvement in physical, social, emotional and / or cognitive functioning / reading skills. This process is documented in the health care record by the health care professional or in the education plan by the education professional.
Yes! Therapy dogs are NOT “service”, or “assistance” dogs. Service dogs include guide dogs for the blind; hearing dogs that alert their owners to sounds; mobility assistance dogs, which may pull a wheelchair or directly support a person; seizure alert dogs; and others like them. Service dogs are covered under the Americans With Disabilities Act. People with disabilities can BY LAW, take their service dogs with them wherever they go, including planes, restaurants, sporting events, etc.
Many people are under the mistaken impression that therapy dogs and their handlers have the same rights of access as people with disabilities and their service animals. Therapy dogs are NOT service dogs. They are NOT allowed to accompany their handlers wherever they go. Therapy dogs are invited into hospitals, nursing homes or schools to work with patients or students on very specific tasks, or simply to bring their unconditional love to the many people who need them in these facilities. Therapy dogs and their handlers have no more rights of access than anyone with a companion animal or pet.
Therapy dogs are always first and foremost beloved family pets. You cannot “buy” a ready made therapy dog. Therapy dogs and their owners, because of their interest in therapy work have undergone additional rigorous training to prepare them to function reliably in health care or educational settings. Therapy dogs live at home with their families when they are not working.
PAWSitive Therapy teams on the NBC News "Making a Difference" segment -- How Therapy Dogs are Helping Sick Kids at Loyola University Medical Center.
(April 30, 2019)
PAWSitive Therapy Troupe Featured on PBS's "In the Loop"
(May 25, 2017)
PAWSitive Therapy team Amy and Buster on CBS News
(February 16, 2018)
Loyola Celebrates 20 Years of Pet Therapy - For 20 years, the PAWsitive Therapy Troupe has been visiting patients, families and colleagues at Loyola Medicine. These canine caregivers bring comfort, support and encouragement through the unique healing power of the human-animal bond.
(July 2017)
For general information on Animal-Assisted Activities/Therapy, visit the Pet Partners web site.
If you are already a registered Pet Partner Team and would like to become involved yourself, please fill out our online application.
If you have further questions about the PAWSitive Therapy Troupe, contact us at:
