COPE Enrichment Companions Offering Pawsitive Enrichment

What Are Animal-Assisted Activities?
Animal-Assisted Activities /Therapy (AAA/T), often referred to as Pet Therapy, incorporates animals into the daily activities of residents in a community environment through recreation, education, and companionship. AAA may also be a valuable tool in meeting a variety of needs in a residential setting, including creating a more home-like atmosphere which may encourage communication between the residents, staff, and visitors.

As part of an Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) program the volunteer team interacts with a patient under the supervision of a health or human service provider to promote improvement in social, cognitive, emotional, and physical functioning.

Benefits
The presence of a pet can bring a variety of benefits to a resident or patient in a facility or communal setting. Many of these benefits may aid in improving their quality of life such as:

• Reduction of isolation by increasing interactions with others
• Provide companionship, a common interest, and a focus
  for conversation
• Sensory stimulation including touch, sight, and sounds
• Animals provide unconditional love and do not pass
  judgment, accepting one's limitations or physical
  appearances
• Provide a sense of purpose or responsibility
• Increase mobility
• Decrease focus on an illness or stressful situation
• Increase the comfort level in the environment,
  "normalize" an institutional setting
• Create a calming affect and reduce anxiety
• Offer opportunities to monitor reality orientation
  while also engaging in life review, thereby validating
  one's history

Are you interested?
If you have a dog that you feel would make a wonderful Pet Therapist, download the Pet Volunteer Application Form.

For more information
If you would like to volunteer or know of someone who could benefit from this service, please call: 919.481.0410 or email:
paws@copeeldercare.org or instructors@startthemright.com.

The Story of Luke
It was a sunny day and Dottie & I were having our usual walk through the facility visiting here and there, sharing smiles, love, and conversation with the residents. We had no idea that we would soon have a Life Experience that would stay with us forever. . .Read More!

Check out our pet therapy dogs in action!