Welcome to the Pet Therapy Society of Northern Alberta
Pets helping people.
The Pet Therapy Society of Northern Alberta (PeTS) is a registered not-for-profit organization. Our human volunteers and their personal animals provide free pet therapy services to facilities in and around Edmonton.
A therapy animal is not the same as a service dog or an emotional support animal. Service dogs and emotional support animals assist their individual owners/handlers, while a pet therapy animal assists other people, with the assistance of their owner/handler.
PeTS on Instagram
Amber and Kipper are twinning in their down-stays....
Jan 23
There was some great role-playing happening this ...
Jan 17
We had volunteers serving Christmas breakfast at ...
Dec 25
Stella and her handler, Colleen, brought a lot of ...
Dec 23
Did you know today is the busiest travel day of ...
Dec 21
Therapy dog Kipper loves the Christmas trees at ...
Dec 5
Blu reporting for duty at the Grey Nuns hospital ...
Nov 26
Saturday October 19th from 1:00-2:30 pm is our ...
Oct 16
Want to be like this awesome team? Come to our ...
Oct 13
The Benefits of Pet Therapy
Since the early 1990s, pet therapy has grown in popularity due to the many benefits experienced by recipients, such as:
- Decrease in stress hormones, including cortisol, adrenaline, and aldosterone.
- Increase in health & social inducing hormones, including oxytocin, dopamine, and endorphins.
- Reduction in depression.
- Development of social skills.
- Demonstration of a healthy relationship between the animal and handler.
Staff at facilities that receive pet therapy visits note:
- Increased participation in group events during and after a pet therapy visit.
- Behavioral improvements in children.
- Therapy animals are often able to draw positive responses from patients that have been withdrawn or non-verbal.
- Pet therapy allows patients to experience positive physical contact through the interactions with a therapy animal.
