Request a Pet Therapy Team
Our pet therapy teams are looking for opportunities to share the love in their community.
Ongoing, scheduled pet therapy
Our teams are looking for opportunities to share the love in facilities in their community.
Where our pet therapy teams volunteer?
- Cancer treatment centres
- Community centres
- Colleges and universities
- Day programs
- Group homes
- Homeless shelters
- Hospices
- Hospitals
- Mental health units
- Rehabilitation centres
- Seniors facilities and retirement communities
- Veteran housing communities
What are the benefits of having Pets and Friends visit your facility?
- Pet Therapy Teams are carefully evaluated through our process.
- Members are covered by Pets and Friends’ third-party liability insurance in the unlikely event of an incident occurring during a pet therapy visit.
- Volunteers are committed to participating in your program on a regular schedule.
- Ongoing communication with and support from Pets and Friends to ensure the efficiency, effectiveness and safety of the Pet Therapy Program and to address any questions, concerns or comments.
- Pet therapy visitations are provided free of charge.
What Pets and Friends expects from you
- A designated contact person to coordinate pet therapy visitations.
- An orientation/training appropriate for the facility.
- A clear understanding of Pets and Friends’ policies and procedures for handler/pet teams and a willingness to abide by them.
- Suitable space for pet therapy visits (in a facility, this could be in lounge/common areas; in a hospital, this is often volunteers visiting in individual rooms; in a school, it may be a quiet room where staff provide crowd control.)
- A safe environment for our therapy pets (i.e.: if non-therapy dogs or other pets are permitted in your facility, they should be on a leash).
- A formal request (scroll down to complete the form).
How to identify Pets and Friends’ Pet Therapy Teams
- The handler and pet will wear their Pets and Friends ID Badges.
- The dog will wear a branded Pets and Friends bandana and a purple leash.
- The handler will wear a branded Pets and Friends vest.
How it works - Ready to Feel the Love?
- To request a pet therapy volunteer, please fill out the form below.
- All requests are reviewed to determine if your facility is a good fit for our mission.
- The request will then be added to our list of available pet therapy opportunities for Pet Therapy Teams to review when selecting a facility to visit.
- When a suitable Pet Therapy Team is available and interested in volunteering, Pets and Friends will contact the facility directly. We do our best to fulfill every request but, due to the number of requests we receive, cannot provide a guarantee of or timeframe for placement.
Invite us to your event
Do you have a special event and want therapy pets to attend?
We require a minimum of four (4) weeks’ notice for event requests and all requests must be approved by the Pet Therapy Coordinator. If your event is approved, it will be posted so volunteers may sign up. Our ability to fulfill your request is based on the availability and interest of our volunteers. If you have any questions about this or the Pet Therapy Program, please contact us.