Since the 1980’s, there have been significant advances in the field of animal assisted therapy and the use of therapy dogs. Organized therapy dog groups provide educational material to volunteers, they screen both volunteers and dogs, and they provide liability insurance for when the dog and handler are volunteering in a therapy setting.
Therapy dog certification organizations are the experts in this field. It is their dedication that has organized and advanced the work of therapy dogs and their efforts should be acknowledged and appreciated. The following certification organizations are recognized by the AKC. A dog must be certified by one of these organizations to be eligible to receive the AKC Therapy Dog title.
AKC would like to thank the following national therapy dog registration/certification organizations for their assistance during the launching of the AKC Therapy Dog title:
- Alliance of Therapy Dogs (formerly Therapy Dogs, Inc.)
- Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs
- Love on a Leash
- Pet Partners (previously Delta Society)
- Therapy Dogs Incorporated (TD Inc.) – new name is Alliance of Therapy Dogs
- Therapy Dogs International
Therapy Groups Listed Alphabetically
- 4 Paws of Love (San Diego, CA)
- 4Paws Learning and Wellness Center (San Francisco & greater North Bay area)
- ABRT Therapy Dog Troupe (Colorado Springs area)
- Aggieland Pets With A Purpose (Brazos Valley area, TX)
- AIR (Attitudes in Reverse) Therapy Dogs (NJ)
- Alliance of Therapy Pets (Springfield, MO area)
- A New Leash on Life, Inc.
- Angel on a Leash (Greater Philadelphia)
- Angel Paws (NW Greater Houston, TX)
- Animal Assisted Therapy SPCA of Solano County (Solano County, CA)
- Animal Friends Connection Humane Society (San Joaquin County, CA)
- Animal Friends Therapets (Southwestern PA)
- Animal Samaritans (Palm Springs area, CA)
- Ambassadors of Love (LaCrosse, WI area)
- American Therapy Pets (greater San Diego, CA area)
- Austin Dog Alliance (Greater Austin, TX)
- AaTs Massachusetts (Central MA)
- BARK (Beach Animals Reading with Kids) (California, Arizona)
- Baylor Health Care System Animal Assisted Therapy
- BC Pets and Friends (lower British Columbia)
- Behind the Line Therapy Dogs (Eastern Shore, MD)
- Blue Line Therapy Dogs (Los Angeles)
- Blue Ridge Mountain Therapy Dogs of VA (Virginia)
- Bonafide Therapy Dogs (Palm Beach, Broward, Dade, FL)
- Brandywine Valley SPCA (West Chester, PA)
- Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Paws & Stripes (Central FL)
- Bright Spot Therapy Dogs, Inc. (New England)
- Buckeye Paws Therapy Dogs (Columbus, OH)
- Canine Assisted Therapy (Florida)
- Canine Caregivers (Salisbury, NC area)
- Canines for Christ (U.S.; other countries)
- Canines for Christ of Greater Cincinnati (OH)
- Canine Companions (Northern California)
- Canines for Service (Wilmington, NC)
- Canine Inspired Change (Greater Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN)
- Canine Link Therapy Dogs (Berkshire County, MA; NW Corner, CT; Columbia County, NY)
- Canine Therapy Corps (Chicago)
- Caring Animal Partners, Inc. (NH and VT)
- Caring Canines, LTD (northern CO)
- Caring Canines Therapy Dog Club of Southern VT
- Caring Canines Therapy Dogs, Inc. (Lake County, FL)
- Caring Critters, Inc
- Caring Hearts Pet Therapy (Greater Harrisburg, Greater Lancaster)
- Caring K9s, Inc. (West Central FL)
- Caring Paws Outreach (Central Maryland)
- Certified Therapy Dog, Inc. (Palm Beach County, FL)
- CHAMP Assistance and Therapy Dogs, Inc. (Greater St. Louis)
- Champs Foundation (Broken Arrow/Tulsa, OK area)
- Coastal Therapy Dogs (Savannah & Bluffton)
- Cohasset Working Dog Foundation Therapy Dogs (Cohasset, MA and South Shore of Boston)
- Comfort Caring Canines Therapy Dogs, Inc. (southeastern PA, NJ, DE, MD)
- Companion Animal Association of AZ., Inc. (Greater Phoenix, Maricopa County)
- Companion Animal Program (Cape Cod, MA)
- Companions, Inc (Fairbanks, AK)
- Cornell Companions (Ithaca, NY)
- Courtroom Critters (Greater Las Vegas area)
- Creature Comfort Pet Therapy (northern New Jersey)
- Creatures and Kids, Inc. (Oklahoma)
- Crisis Response Canines, Inc.
- Divine Canines (Greater Austin, TX)
- DogAbility Therapy Dogs (Long Island, NY)
- Dog B.O.N.E.S. Therapy Dogs of Massachusetts
- Dogs On Call (DOC): An Easter Seals Program (central and southeastern Alabama)
- Dogs on Duty (Greater St. Louis, MO)
- Dogs With a Purpose (Triangle area, NC)
- Domesti-PUPS (southeast NE & MO)
- Duo Dogs, Inc. (MO: St. Louis metropolitan area)
- Exceptional Sidekicks Therapy Dogs (western CT)
- Fairfax Pets on Wheels (Fairfax County, VA)
- Faithful Paws Pet Therapy (Houston, TX)
- Faithful Friends AAT Ministry (Clear Lake, League City, TX and surrounding areas)
- Faithful Friends Pet Therapy (DE and southeast PA)
- Fetch Remedy Therapy Dogs (SE Ohio)
- Fidos for Freedom (Baltimore, Greater Washington)
- First Responders Pack Foundation (Palm Beach, Broward, Miami/Dade Co., FL)
- First Responder Therapy Dogs
- Fox Valley Therapy Dogs (Kendall, Kane, Dupage, Will counties-IL)
- Four Paws Animal Assisted Therapy (Wilmington & Raleigh NC)
- FURever As Friends (Gloucester County, New Jersey)
- Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy Services (California — San Jose and Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties)
- Furry Friends Therapy Dogs, Inc. (Coos County, OR)
- Gabriel’s Angels Therapy Dogs (Central & South AZ)
- Gabriel Institute (Pierce County, WA)
- Gainesville Canine Training Club (Gainesville, TX)
- Golden Paws Assistance Dogs (Naples, FL)
- Golden Paws Therapy Dogs (Phoenix, AZ area)
- Go Team Therapy, Crisis and Airport Dogs, Inc (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
- Got Your Six Support Dogs (Greater St. Louis area)
- Green Dogs Unleashed Therapy Dogs (Central VA)
- H.A.B.I.T. (Human Animal Bond in Tennessee)
- Hands and Paws, Inc. (Hapi Pet Therapy) (South Central KS)
- Happy Tails Pet Therapy (Atlanta)
- Healing Heart Therapy Dogs , Inc. (Nebraska)
- Healing Hounds, Inc. (front range CO)
- Hearts of Gold Therapy Dogs (mid-Florida)
- Helping and Healing Paws (Minnesota)
- Hero Dogs, Inc. (Washington DC area)
- HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response (national program)
- Howard County Paws for Comfort (MD)
- Hudson Valley Paws for a Cause (Hudson Valley, NY)
- Human Animal Bond in Colorado-HABIC (Front Range, Northern CO, Denver area)
- Human Animal Link of Oklahoma Foundation (HALO) (Oklahoma)
- Humane Hearts Pet Therapy (Forsyth County (GA) area)
- Humane Society of Broward County (FL)
- Humane Society of Greater Miami (Miami, FL area)
- Humane Society of Sarasota County Therapy Dogs
- Humane Society of Southern Arizona Pet VIP Program (southern AZ)
- Independent Therapy Dogs, Incorporated (Select cities in CA, NV, and WA. See web page.)
- Intermountain Therapy Animals and the Reading Education Assistance Dogs® (R.E.A.D. ®)
- Invisible Paw Prints, Inc. (Greater Charlotte, NC)
- K911 Community Outreach Pups (South central KY)
- K-9 Caring Angels (Fairfax County, VA)
- K9s for Warriors
- Kathleen C. Cailloux Humane Society of Kerrville (Kerrville, TX)
- Kenosha Kennel Club Therapy Dogs (SE WI, NE IL)
- KPETS-Keystone Pet Enhanced Therapy Services (southeast/central PA)
- Lend A Heart Animal Assisted Therapy (Greater Sacramento, CA)
- Lend A Paw Therapy Dogs (Greater Los Angeles/Santa Clarita, CA)
- Lincolnshire Animal Hospital Therapy Dog Group (NE Illinois area)
- Literacy Education Assistance Pups – LEAP (Delaware)
- Louisiana Capital City Therapy Dogs (Baton Rouge area)
- Love on 4 Paws (Greater Los Angeles, CA)
- Loving Animals Providing Smiles – LAPS (Napa, CA)
- Lutheran Medical Center Pet Therapy (Greater Denver, CO)
- Lux Love Therapy Dogs (Las Vegas Area)
- Marin Humane Society SHARE (Marin County, CA)
- Masonic Association of Service & Therapy Dogs (Greater Chicago area)
- Medinah Shrine Therapy Dog Club (Chicago area)
- Miami Valley Pet Therapy Association (MVPTA) (Dayton, Ohio and surrounding counties)
- Micheal’s Angel Paws (Las Vegas area)
- Mid-Michigan Therapy Dogs (Flint, MI area)
- Miracle Mutts (Marley’s Mutts) Therapy Dogs (So Central CA)
- Monroe County Humane Assn Therapy Animal Program (Bloomington, IN)
- My Caring Paws (Carroll Co, MD)
- Nashville Therapy Pets (Nashville, TN)
- National Capital Therapy Dogs, Inc. (Washington DC, Baltimore, eastern MD, southern VA, Delmarva region)
- New England Human Animal Bond (CT & RI)
- New York Therapy Animals, Inc. (NYC and boroughs)
- NOCSAR Therapy Dogs (NW FL)
- Ohlone Humane Society Pet Therapy (Fremont, Newark, Union City, CA)
- Ohio 4-H Pet Pals (state of Ohio)
- Olympic Mountain Pet Pals
- Operation School House (Greater Kansas City area)
- Orange County Animal Allies (Orange County, CA)
- Pals for Life (Philadelphia area)
- Patchogue Rotary AAT, INC (Long Island, NY)
- PawPals (Greater Tulsa, OK Metro)
- Paws4Comfort (Howard County, MD)
- Paws4people Foundation
- Pawsabilities Unleashed (Frankfort, KY)
- Pawsitive Changes Therapy Dogs (SE Michigan)
- Pawsitive Friendships (greater Phoenix, AZ)
- Paws 4 for Hearts Working Therapy Dogs (Spring Branch, TX)
- Paws Across Texas (PAT) (TX: Greater Dallas and Fort Worth)
- Paws & Hearts Therapy Dogs (Coachella Valley/Palm Springs, CA)
- Paws and Think, Inc. (Greater Indianapolis, IN)
- P.A.W.S. Anne Arundel County (MD)
- Paws As Loving Support (Sonoma/Marin counties, CA)
- Paws For Friendship, Inc.
- Paws For Healing, Inc. (northern CA-Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Marin counties)
- Paws For Love Therapy Dogs, Inc. (Salem/McMinnville, OR)
- Paws For Therapy (Houston, TX area)
- PAWS for People (Pet Assisted Visitation Volunteer Services, Inc.) (Parts of DE, PA, MD, NJ)
- PAWS for Service (San Antonio area)
- Paws from the Heart (Rhode Island)
- Paws’itive Teams, Inc. (San Diego County, CA)
- PAWS of CNY, Inc (central NY)
- Paws with Love Therapy Dogs, Inc. (Lawton, OK)
- Peaceful Paws Pet Therapy (MA and RI)
- Peninsula Humane Society Pet Assisted Therapy (San Mateo and norther Santa Clara counties, CA)
- People Animals Love (PAL) (DC metropolitan area, northern VA, MD)
- Pet-A-Pet Club, Inc. (Greater Detroit/Ann Arbor, MI)
- Pet Connections (upstate NY)
- Pet Prescription Team (southern CA)
- Pet Therapy of the Ozarks, Inc. (50 mile radius from Springfield, MO)
- Pets and People Foundation, Inc. (eastern Massachusetts)
- Pets for Life, Inc.
- Pets Helping People, Inc.
- Pets on Wheels (Maryland)
- Pets on Wheels of Delmarva (DE, MD, VA)
- Pets on Wheels of Scottsdale, Inc. (AZ)
- Pony Express Therapy Dogs (University of Missouri)
- Portland Area Canine Therapy Teams (PACTT) (Oregon, SW Washington)
- Positive Paws K9 Angels (Virginia)
- Precious Paws Therapy Dogs (Central PA)
- Prescription Pet Program of Children’s Hospital Colorado (metro Denver)
- Project Canine – Connecting Canines (Seattle, WA area)
- Project PUP (Pets Uplifting People) (Tampa Bay area, FL)
- Quad Cities Canine Assistance Network (Greater Quad City area)
- Rainbow Animal Assisted Therapy, Inc. (Chicago and surrounding counties)
- Reading with Rover
- RocDog, Inc. Therapy Dogs (Western NY)
- San Diego (CA) Humane Society Therapy Dogs
- San Francisco SPCA AAT Program (San Francisco)
- Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society Pet Outreach (Santa Fe, NM)
- SC Dogs Therapy Group (upstate of SC, north GA)
- Seattle Humane Visiting Pet Friends (Seattle, WA)
- Share-A-Pet, Org., Inc. (So. FL, San Francisco area, upstate NY)
- Silver Star Animal Assisted Therapy, Inc. (Longview, TX)
- Sit Stay Read (Chicago, IL)
- Sonoma Humane Society Pet Assisted Therapy Program (Sonoma County, CA)
- Southwest Canine Corps of Volunteers, Inc. (NM: Greater Albuquerque and Santa Fe)
- Southern Wisconsin Canine Therapy Dogs Assn (Southern WI)
- SPCA of Erie County (NY) Paws For Love
- St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center (Paws for People Program) (northern NJ)
- St. John Ambulance’s Therapy Dog Program (Canada)
- Sunrise Service & Therapy Dogs (Colorado Springs, CO)
- Sunshine Independent & Therapy Dogs (FL)
- Sunshine Teams, Mendocino Coast Humane Society (Mendocino Coast of CA)
- Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare Animal Therapy
- The Dog Knowledge Service & Therapy Dogs (Charlotte, NC)
- The Good Dog Foundation (NY, NJ, CT, MA)
- Therapet Foundation (Greater east Texas)
- Therapeutic Paws of Canada (Canada)
- Therapy Animals of San Antonio, Inc. (Greater San Antonio, TX)
- Therapy Dog Foundation, Inc. (southeast FL)
- Therapy Dogs International
- Therapy Dogs United (northwest PA and western NY)
- Therapy Dogs of Vermont (VT)
- Therapy Pals of Golden Triangle (Denton County, TX)
- Therapy Pet Pals of Texas (Austin, NW Houston)
- TherapyPets (CA: San Francisco-Oakland Bay area)
- Therapy Tails Ontario (Ontario, Canada)
- Three Rivers Visiting Dogs (Fort Wayne, IN area)
- Tony La Russa’s ARF Pet Hug Pack (Contra Costa County, CA)
- UCLA People Animal Connection (Los Angeles area)
- U.S.A. Therapy Dogs, Inc. (Central and SE Michigan)
- Valley Humane Society Therapy Dog Program (No. California, East Bay)
- Veteran Service Dogs Organization Therapy Dogs (Southern & Central MI)
- Veterans Treatment Assistance Corps – VTAC (MI)
- Victory Therapy Dog Program (Greater Colorado Springs)
- Visiting Pet Program (Metropolitan New Orleans)
- Vitas Healthcare Program 98 (SF Bay area)
- Vitas Healthcare Therapy Dogs (U.S.)
- Vitas Hospice Paw Pals (Dayton, OH area)
- Wags for Hope (Frederick, MD)
- WAGS Pet Therapy of Kentucky, Inc. (KY)
- WCA Hospital (Southern Tier, Chautauqua County, NY)
- West Michigan Therapy Dogs, Inc. (Greater Western MI)
- Windwalker Humane Coalition for Professional Pet Assisted Therapy (Rhode Island, part of MA)