When life becomes difficult, dreary, or mundane, it’s good to have something that can change your perspective, lift your spirits, and remind you that you are loved. One beautiful way to do this is a visit with a therapy animal. Pet Partners of Greater Cincinnati helps to share the love of therapy animals by sending teams of volunteers and their pets into the Cincinnati community to bring light, laughter, and joy to people in need and people who might not otherwise have much positive interaction with animals. Volunteers visit diverse locations such as hospitals, hospices, rehabilitation facilities, Ronald McDonald House, police and fire stations, local businesses, and local schools including universities, high schools, grades schools, and special needs programs for children and adults. A therapy animal can bring joy pretty much anywhere!
Paws-itive interactions with animals have been shown to have many benefits for human health on a physical level, but there are also some great mental, emotional, and spiritual health benefits, too. Trish Smith, who is a Pet Partners volunteer with her Yorkshire Terrier, Rosie, says that when she visits with people, they will sometimes get emotional or hold Rosie on their lap because they’re missing their own pets. A Pet Partners visit helps to bring joy and a positive distraction from what a person or their family members may be going through. “Pet therapy reduces stress and creates a positive reaction in the body,” Smith says. “Some people are afraid of dogs, but that’s very rare. Usually, it’s a very welcome thing to have a dog come in. The reactions are usually really positive.”
Smith moved to Cincinnati in 2021, and when she retired from her position as a Director of Program Management with Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., she knew that she wanted to do volunteer work that would include Rosie. She did some exploration of local therapy-animal groups, and felt that Pet Partners had the most to offer, including good opportunities, good resources and training, a comprehensive screening of potential volunteers, and the most respected reputation in the community.
As Smith started doing more within the group, she became a board member, and from there moved into public relations and social media to help create exposure for Pet Partners.
Smith points out that there are important differences among a therapy animal, an Emotional Support Animal (ESA), and service dogs. The purpose of a therapy animal is simply to serve the community and make people happy. This is quite different from service dogs and ESAs, who provide complex support for just one person. There are some other important differences, as well. “Therapy dogs don’t have the same privileges as service dogs in that they can’t go anywhere, anytime,” Smith points out. “They have to be invited in.” All three types of support animals can wear a vest, and while it’s okay to approach and pet a therapy dog in public, this is not the case for ESAs and service dogs. “People see a vest and assume it’s a service dog, but there’s a difference,” Smith says.
A Pet Partners visit can be requested via their website. If you’d like an in-person experience with Pet Partners of Greater Cincinnati, they will have a booth at Paws in the Park, a free, dog-friendly event on September 28, from 11 am-3 pm at Summit Park in Blue Ash. If you’re more of an online kind of person, you can explore the national Pet Partners website at https://www.petpartners.org and the greater Cincinnati website at https://www.tpgcpets.org/.
“It’s a wonderful organization,” says Smith. “It’s a great group of people that really care about their pets and the people they visit. They’re very passionate about what they do. I encourage anyone who is interested to visit the Pet Partners website.”
Click to watch Rosie’s story here, a Yorkshire Terrier with a big heart and a flair for fashion, who brings joy to all who meet her.
Pet Partners of Greater Cincinnati therapy program click here.