Therapy animals expand in settings
- Therapy animals are appearing in more care settings, with a Paris-area psychiatric hospital using donkeys and U.S. hospitals expanding certified dog visits. - Northwestern Medicine says handler-dog teams must come through approved certifying groups, while retirement decisions hinge more on stress and disengagement than age. - Northwestern Medicine lists therapy-dog volunteer requirements on its website, and Psychology Today outlined retirement signs for handlers on June 1.
Animal-assisted care is showing up in a widening range of clinical settings, from a psychiatric hospital outside Paris to U.S. hospital volunteer programs built around certified therapy dogs. The common thread is not the species but the structure around the visits: trained handlers, screening rules, and limits meant to protect patients and animals alike. Recent reports from AP, Northwestern Medicine and Psychology Today show the model expanding while also putting more emphasis on animal welfare and operational rules. The result is a picture of therapy-animal programs becoming more formal as they spread. ### Why are donkeys showing up in a psychiatric hospital near Paris? Neuilly-sur-Marne, in the eastern suburbs of Paris, is home to a psychiatric hospital unit where patients take part in therapy sessions involving donkeys, according to an Associated Press report published June 2. AP reported that patients are paired with animals including Nono, Pitou, Oscar, Manolo and Malraux as part of treatment funded by France’s public health system. May 29, 2026, was the date of one of the reported sessions, with patients grooming and walking the donkeys at the hospital. AP said patients and staff described the animals as helping people step out of routine treatment patterns and engage in care differently. ### What does a U.S. hospital therapy-dog program actually require? Northwestern Medicine says its therapy-dog volunteers must apply as handler-dog teams already registered through one of the health system’s approved certifying organizations. (apnews.com) The hospital system’s volunteer page says registration alone does not automatically qualify a team to join the program. WGN Radio reported June 1 that handler Dana Friedman-Graham and her dog Sully visit patients and staff at Lake Forest Hospital through Northwestern Medicine’s Animal Therapy Volunteer Project. (apnews.com) The station said Friedman-Graham discussed how dogs are trained to qualify for the program and described visits in which Sully responded to patients in real time. ### Why do hospitals and clinics like this format? (nm.org) Northwestern Medicine says therapy dogs bring “calm, comfort and healing benefits” to patients and staff. The program’s design also allows visits in more than one format, including patient encounters and staff support, according to the hospital’s volunteer materials and the WGN interview summary. That flexibility helps explain why animal visits are being used across mixed settings. (wgnradio.com) A bedside visit can be brief and one-to-one, while a common-area stop can include patients with different mobility or communication levels. AP’s report from France and Northwestern’s U.S. program point to the same operational advantage: the interaction can be adapted to the person and the place. That is an inference drawn from the formats described in those reports. (nm.org) ### What are the risks if programs grow without rules? Psychology Today reported June 1 that age is a poor guide for deciding when a therapy dog should stop working. Elizabeth Ruegg wrote that handlers should look instead at energy, interest and comfort, and watch for reduced enthusiasm, avoidance and disengagement. Pet Partners, cited in the Psychology Today article, says reduced enthusiasm and avoidance can indicate that a therapy animal is ready to step back from community visits. (apnews.com) Northwestern Medicine’s published requirements, meanwhile, show that hospitals are formalizing entry standards before visits begin. Together, those sources point to the same practical issue: programs need policies not just for access, but for rest, stress and retirement. (psychologytoday.com) ### What should readers watch next? June 1 and June 2 brought the latest public examples: Psychology Today’s guidance for handlers, WGN Radio’s report on Northwestern Medicine, and AP’s dispatch from the Paris-area hospital. Northwestern Medicine continues to post volunteer requirements for therapy-dog teams on its website, while handler guidance on retirement and stress is now being published alongside reports of program expansion. (wgnradio.com) (psychologytoday.com)
