1. Communications 1010 Therapy Animals & How they help humans Public Presentation Martina Nelson Professor Johnston S.L.C.C. Spring Semester, 2013

2. Intermountain Therapy Dogs

3. WHAT IS A THERAPY ANIMAL? A therapy animal is part of a volunteer Team: he and his human/owner work together. They visit hospitals, nursing homes, schools, & traumatic event scenes (Connecticut school shooting).

4. TYPES OF THERAPY ANIMALS Most therapy animals are dogs But some are: Horses Cats Birds Dolphins Kathy with Billy Biddle, ITA therapy horse

5. WHAT MAKES A PET OWNER A GOOD THERAPY TEAM CANDIDATE? My Credentials: Therapy: Animal Assisted Activity Certified Obedience: Dog obedience titles Dog show ring: Dog Obedience Judge’s Steward Empathy/Good judgment in sensitive situations

6. WHAT MAKES A DOG A GOOD THERAPY DOG CANDIDATE? My Credentials: Animal Assisted Activity Certified Dog obedience titles Dog Obedience Judge’s Steward Dog’s Credentials: Calm temperament Excellent health & energy Obedience trained Good cleanliness/grooming

7. WHAT MAKES A TEAM SAFE? Insurance! “ITA has never had a single claim, due to our intense screening and training efforts.” Kathy Klotz, ITA

8. Animal Assisted Therapy: intricately involved in PT situations Animal Assisted Activity: more casual visitation with no PT regimen TWO MAIN TYPES OF THERAPY ANIMALS

9. WHO DO THERAPY ANIMALS HELP? Patients Nursing staff Families of patients

10. WHO DO THERAPY ANIMALS HELP? Kids with reading disabilities: R.E.A.D. (Reading Education Assistance Dogs)

11. Gives a sense of normalcy to an otherwise unfamiliar place Quicker recovery time, pain management, more enthusiastic Physical Therapy participation (Marcus study on Pain Management) BENEFITS OF THERAPY ANIMALS

12. For patients with psychotic disorders, those who participated in AAT had twice the reduction in anxiety scores as those who participated in some other form of recreational activity. (Barker study, 1998) ANIMAL ASSISTED THERAPY WORKS

13. ITA is a non-profit organization that trains, certifies, and insures volunteer animal therapy teams in the intermountain Western United States. WHAT IS INTERMOUNTAIN THERAPY ANIMALS?

14. For more information, go to: www. therapyanimals.org Or Google: Intermountain Therapy Animals RESOURCES

15. INTERMOUNTAIN THERAPY ANIMALS: PETS HELPING PEOPLE

16. Barker & Dawson 1998Barker & Dawson 1998, pp. 797–801. Psychotic patients show twice the improvement with AAT vs. other recreational activities. Klotz, Kathy, Executive Director Intermountain Therapy Animals. Personal Interview, May 02, 2013, Salt Lake City, Utah. Marcus, Dawn; Berstein. C., Constantin. J.M., Kunkel F.A., Breuer P., & Hanlon R., (2012). "Animal-assisted therapy at an Outpatient Pain management clinic". Pain Medicine 13 (1): 45–57 CITATIONS

17. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!