Animal-assisted therapy uses animals to support human health and wellbeing outcomes. The welfare of therapy animals themselves deserves careful attention given the demands placed on them in therapeutic settings.
Therapy animals provide genuine benefits to humans but these must not come at the cost of animal welfare. The work is emotionally and physiologically demanding, and animals that cannot easily signal stress or discomfort may be worked beyond their welfare limits. Best-practice programs monitor animal welfare indicators throughout sessions, provide adequate rest and recovery time, retire animals when signs of chronic stress appear, and match individual animals to work environments suited to their temperament and needs.