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Animal Assisted Therapy
Animal assisted therapy is the incorporation of an animal in the treatment and wellness progam of an individual. Animal assisted therapy is not to be confused with service animals or family pets. Therapy animals require special training and must meet certain criteria to be considered for the role of a therapy animal. These animals help people to deal with emotional trauma, abuse, physical disabilities and have been found to improve the overal general wellness of an individual. Two organizations that work with animal assisted therapy programs are the American Humane Society and Pet Partners. Animal assisted therapy has been used for many years.

History
The use of animals to help with healing was first written about by Homer in 900 BC In the nineth century the first animal assisted program appeared in Belgium when farm animals were used to help care for people with disabilities. One of the earliest written recordings of the benefits of animals in facilitating healing was made by Florence Nightingale in 1860. Since that time the use of animal assisted therapy has continued to grow and expand.

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