Pets Are Love: A Therapy Dog Program for Tulsa

We’ve all seen them. From adorable dogs visiting senior citizens in retirement homes to a pack of incredibly eager golden retrievers helping relieve stress experienced by college students during finals week, the concept of therapy dogs has become more and more recognized and implemented in our society. This begs the question: why have therapy dogs skyrocketed in popularity? According to the Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD), while dogs who render these services have always been around, COVID-19 put them on center stage. “Therapy dogs are in high demand and for good reason. As society has shut down and begins to open back up, therapy dogs give a sense of normalcy and a window to what life was like pre-pandemic,” says ATD. Thinking back to how all of our lives cosmically shifted during the pandemic, this assertion hardly seems surprising. ATD goes on to remark, “therapy dogs can make vulnerable people feel less vulnerable, and can bring light into the lives of all who encounter them.” I remember when during my junior year at the University of Kansas, I experienced a particularly grueling semester filled with advanced courses in philosophy, neuroscience, and contract law. Talk about a triple whammy! At the height of my stress, I vividly recall our Alumni Association offering all weary students near and far a break from the anxiety to pop by and spend some time with therapy dogs. I could practically feel the stress melting away, if even for a brief minute; for the first time in a long time, I was able to breathe.

At Tulsa SPCA, we are proud to offer a program specifically around therapy dogs! Our PAL (Pets are Love) program, aims to bring screened dogs out into our community. Below is an excerpt from our website:

The Tulsa SPCA has been offering our Pets Are Love (PAL) program, grounded in the philosophy and practice of Animal-Assisted Therapy, since the early 1990s. Our volunteers take pre-screened and pre-trained dogs (and, occasionally, cats) for scheduled visits to facilities in the Tulsa area on an ongoing basis. We visit nursing homes, schools, hospitals, and/or different places of business.

Taylor Roepke-Perez, Tulsa SPCA Director of Community Engagement, states, “The Pets Are Love Program is aptly named. It is such a joy to see how the community interacts with animals, whether they are current shelter animals or alumni of our shelter. It brings a piece of happiness into everyone’s day!” Please note, while this program uses volunteer dogs and their owners, we do not offer trainings or certifications for dogs to become PAL dogs. However, we do have an assessment which allows us to determine if a dog will qualify to be part of the PAL program. This assessment comes from the AKC Canine Good Citizen Test.

Lastly, we are often asked about the difference between a therapy dog and a service dog, such as a Seeing Eye dog. Many think they are one in the same, but in fact they are different. Stanford University, in an academic piece regarding the benefits of therapy dogs, makes the distinction very clear. They state, “Unlike service dogs that are trained to assist their handlers, therapy dogs have one role: to cheer people up.” In other words, service dogs go through much more vigorous training and have much more specific jobs, such as providing sight for individuals with impaired vision.

And there you have it! If you would like to learn more about our PAL program and become a volunteer, click here or contact Taylor at troepke@tulsaspca.org. We would love to meet you!