Anderson’s Healing Paws Program is a volunteer-based comfort animal therapy program, providing positive pet experiences to children and adults throughout our community. Healing Paws volunteers and their pet partners visit schools, libraries, rehabilitation facilities, senior communities, and local businesses on a regularly defined schedule.

Studies show that positive interactions with a friendly companion animal can help improve health in a wide variety of ways, including:

• lowered blood pressure
• decreased anxiety and depression
• lowered risk of heart disease
• prevention of allergies in children
• reduced stress levels
• strengthened immune systems
• increased social interaction
• improved cardiovascular health
• diminished overall physical pain

Click here to schedule a Healing Paws comfort animal visit at your location.

The Anderson Humane Healing Paws program allows you and your pet to be tested as a TEAM for certification as a compassion animal team. As a team, both you and your pet will be evaluated.

Anderson Humane will accept most domesticated animals into the program. It’s not just dogs and cats that can be evaluated. Click here for guidelines and a sample of the evaluation.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

We will place you and your pet in a busy, noisy environment to see how well you both handle the kind of situations most encountered during Healing Paws visits. This includes interacting with people using canes, crutches, wheelchairs, and other props. Noises may be created to observe reactions. 

1. Click here to schedule your pet’s evaluation.
2. Be sure to review the program requirements and testing guidelines here.
3. Provide proof of rabies (for dogs and cats) as well as a yearly veterinary wellness exam and fecal test.
4. Upon passing the evaluation and providing the required up-to-date veterinary records, you and your pet will be certified through Anderson Humane.
5. You and your pet are now ready to start healing our community! Anderson Humane will provide you with a list of locations.