Therapet: Animal Assisted Therapy

Therapet’s mission is to utilize specially trained and certified animals to promote health, hope and healing. In 1994, an Occupational Therapist who had begun using animals in therapy while working at Baylor Rehabilitation Hospital in Dallas, Texas, was recruited to start a similar program at a new rehabilitation hospital (now known as Trinity Mother Frances Rehabilitation Hospital) in Tyler, Texas. She soon relocated to Tyler and she and a small group of dedicated volunteers founded what is now known as Therapet in 1998. Their work using animals in a rehabilitation setting to facilitate better mobility and functionality for the patients set the groundwork for the work Therapet accomplishes today. Therapet has now been serving east Texas for over 28 years. What started as a small group of six or seven founding volunteer teams has now grown to 100+ volunteers, 80+ dogs, 3 cats, and a cockatoo. Three of our founding volunteers, Bonnie Maywhort, Julie Miller and Susie Moore, are still volunteering with Therapet. They continue to guide the mission of our organization and support Therapet through their leadership and volunteerism.