WHERE ANIMAL THERAPISTS WORK?

We’re all familiar with animals in the home. Altogether, Americans own more than 500 million pet animals, including 52.9 million dogs and 59.1 million cats. Pet owners spend billions of dollars a year to feed and care for their animals—more money is spent on pet food than on baby food—and it’s safe to say that the relationship of people to their own pets is often therapeutic, even if we don’t usually think of it that way. But today, animals are also found in many different insti- tutional settings, including nursing homes and hospices, hospitals, schools, prisons, and residential and outpatient programs for “at risk” youth. Almost anywhere people who are troubled or ill receive treatment and sup- port, animals are a part of the program.