Animal-assisted therapy uses dogs, horses, and other animals to support human health and wellbeing. The welfare of the animals in these roles has received growing attention, with evidence that working animals can experience both positive and negative states depending on how programmes are run.
The welfare of animals in therapeutic roles is a two-way relationship. Well-matched animals in well-run programmes can benefit from the mental stimulation, social interaction, and enrichment that human contact provides. However, poorly run programmes can expose animals to repeated stressful interactions with unpredictable, distressed, or physically overwhelming human clients. Dogs placed in sensory overload environments without the ability to disengage show acute and chronic stress responses. Horses asked to perform repetitive therapeutic exercises without choice or rest show physiological stress markers. The key welfare safeguards are: allowing animals to disengage, monitoring stress indicators during sessions, providing adequate rest and recovery, and ensuring animals are temperamentally suited to therapeutic work.