Meet therapy pet teams from the Kansas City chapter of Pet Partners, the national leader in demonstrating and promoting animal-assisted therapy, activities and education. Nearly forty years since the organization’s inception, the science that proves the benefits of this therapy to veterans with PTSD, seniors living with Alzheimer’s, students with literacy challenges, patients in recovery, people with intellectual disabilities and other people has become indisputable. Today, Pet Partners is the nation’s largest and most prestigious nonprofit registering handlers of multiple species as volunteer teams providing animal-assisted interventions. www.petpartners.org
Also greet teams from Training to Lead. This organization adopts and trains dogs, then places them free of charge with individuals with various disabilities, focusing on veterans and first responders with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, hearing impairment and mobility difficulties. Training to Lead started as a program in the Stafford School District in Kansas, pairing students with canine partners from the local humane society. Under the supervision of a professional trainer, the students assume the role of foster homes, responsible for care and training of their assigned partner. Since its inception, schools from all over the country have inquired about establishing a Training to Lead program. www.stafford349.com/teachers/coach-cargill/learning-to-lead
The organizations' visit is sponsored by Trouw Nutrition USA.