Therapy Pets: The Animal-Human Healing Partnership Book

The 23 short stories of this collection tell of the interaction between a trained therapy animal (mostly dogs, though there are stories about cats, horses, and a llama) and a person in need of care. A variety of encounters are described, including therapy dogs providing emotional release to the firefighters at Ground Zero, comforting the elderly and dying, and working with disabled children. Appendices provide information about therapy pet programs. Each account includes one or more b&w photos. The volume is not indexed. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Publishers Weekly

Crawford, a clinical psychologist, and Pomerinke, a professional dog trainer, provide a touching introduction to Animal Assisted Therapy in 23 profiles of people who benefited from AAT. In intimate and enthusiastic short chapters, the authors cover the notable variety of the animals' healing power: two dogs, Tikva and Hoss, console workers at Ground Zero; a 20-year-old pony helps a young girl with cerebral palsy gain muscular control; a seven-pound Brussels Griffon aids victims of sexual and physical abuse. While the book offers a smattering of clinical information, the appeal here is primarily emotional-this is a warm and fuzzy read (sometimes perhaps too warm and fuzzy). Crawford and Pomerinke's writing can become scrambled when addressing the uplifting emotional impact of the animals' abilities; the authors also tend to restate concepts they have demonstrated clearly already (e.g., animals give unconditional love). Animal lovers, though, may be able to overlook the authors' stylistic imperfections and focus on the pleasure and poignancy of the heartwarming stories. The appendix includes a state-by-state listing of AAT organizations and a chapter on how to get your pet started in the field. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.