It's National Puppy Day and what better way to celebrate than sharing the mission of Happy Tails Pet Therapy! Happy Tails is a volunteer non-profit organization that provides pet therapy teams to over 125 facilities in the metro Atlanta area, ranging from nursing homes, hospitals and rehab facilities to schools, children’s and special needs programs. The teams consist of volunteers including various pets and their handlers who visit for an hour at a time on a regular schedule to provide unconditional love to people of all ages, abilities and special needs.

The teams consist of dogs, cats and rabbits and their owners. Each of the pets has passed an evaluation to be sure that they have basic skills and the right personality to be a therapy pet. Then they join one or more teams that fit with their schedule. There are also special events such as Reading Paws (kids reading to pets), stress relief for final exams, and parades.

Dr. Kay Kirkpatrick, Emeritus, has been a member of Happy Tails with Dobie, her golden doodle for several years.

   "We started out visiting at North Fulton Hospital and our team currently visits the Ronald McDonald House. When I put on Dobie’s Happy Tails bandanna, he gets very excited. The pets and owners get as much out of the program as the people being visited!"

Learn more about Happy Tails Pet Therapy online at www.happytailspets.org.