Services

Hand in Paw partners with hospitals, schools, workplaces, and community organizations to provide structured animal-assisted program services at no cost to our Program Partners.

Our work is organized around three program pillars: Health & Well-being, Resilience, and Education. These pillars reflect the primary ways Animal-Assisted Interventions support the people and communities we serve.

Professionally, this work includes Animal-Assisted Therapy, Animal-Assisted Activities, and Animal-Assisted Education. Publicly, we organize our services around the outcomes our partners and participants experience every day.

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Health & Well-Being

Supporting healing, wellness,
and quality of life

Our Health & Well-being pillar includes services most closely aligned with Animal-Assisted Therapy, where trained Therapy Teams support patients, residents, caregivers, and healthcare professionals in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, and other care settings.

These visits can help reduce stress, encourage engagement, support therapeutic goals, and provide comfort during difficult moments.

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Resilience

Helping people cope, connect,
and build emotional strength

Our Resilience pillar includes services most closely aligned with Animal-Assisted Activities, which use structured human-animal interactions to support emotional well-being, social connection, stress relief, and confidence.

These services may take place in workplaces, community organizations, crisis-response settings, human-service agencies, and youth-serving environments.
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Education

Building confidence, literacy, and
social-emotional growth

Our Education pillar includes services most closely aligned with Animal-Assisted Education, where Therapy Teams support learning goals in schools, libraries, and other educational settings.

These programs help students practice reading, build confidence, strengthen communication skills, and experience learning in a supportive, nonjudgmental environment.

Program Partners

Hand in Paw partners with hospitals, schools, workplaces, senior care communities, and human-service organizations to bring Animal-Assisted Therapy services to the people they serve.
Every visit is coordinated by Hand in Paw staff and delivered by trained volunteer Therapy Teams. Services are provided at no cost to our Program Partners, thanks to the generosity of donors and community supporters.

Interested in bringing Hand in Paw to your organization?

Request A Visit

Have questions about event requests or becoming a Hand in Paw Program Partner? Please contact Volunteer and Programs Manager Stephanie Stoltzner at stephanie@handinpaw.org or 205-322-5144 x161

Thank you for your interest in bringing Hand in Paw to your organization or event

Hand in Paw provides Animal-Assisted Therapy services through trained volunteer Therapy Teams. We do our best to accommodate requests that align with our mission, but because our services depend on volunteer availability, we are unable to accept every request.

Please review the guidelines below before submitting your request:

After you submit the form, a Hand in Paw staff member will review your request and follow up with next steps.