Animal-Assisted Therapy: Standards and Animal Welfare

Animal-assisted therapy programmes use companion animals to support human mental health and wellbeing, but the welfare of the therapy animals themselves requires structured protection.

Key Facts

Animal-assisted therapy programmes operate in hospitals, care homes, schools, and prisons globally
Dogs are the most commonly used therapy animals, followed by horses in equine-assisted therapy
Studies show therapy animals experience elevated cortisol during some interactions, particularly with unfamiliar people
The Pet Partners programme in the USA requires welfare assessment and sets working hour limits for therapy animals
Poorly managed programmes can subject animals to high-stress interactions with vulnerable human populations

Welfare Considerations

Animal-assisted therapy welfare requires the same attention as the human therapeutic outcomes the programmes produce. A dog working in a care home that visits multiple residents with dementia for several hours without rest may be experiencing chronic social and sensory overwhelm. The welfare signals -- lip licking, yawning, whale eye, low body posture -- are readable by trained observers but missed by participants focused on the human interaction. Accreditation standards that include animal welfare monitoring, working hour limits, handler training in stress recognition, and retirement criteria when animals show persistent stress responses are essential for ethical therapy animal programmes.

What You Can Do

Support only therapy animal programmes with accreditation including welfare monitoring
Learn to recognise stress signals in dogs if you participate in animal-assisted therapy
Advocate for welfare standards in therapy animal programme licensing
Ensure therapy animals have regular rest periods and recovery time between sessions