North Star Therapy Animals

Therapy Animal Services in Minnesota

Request a Visit

Thank you for you’re interest in having  a North Star Therapy Animal team(s) visit your facility. When submitting a request, please keep in mind:

  • NSTA is 100% volunteer run with many members who work full time
  • NSTA receives more visits than our 150 teams can fill.
  • NSTA is working hard to recruit new pet therapy teams so we have the ability to fulfill as many new requests as possible.   We only mention this in the event that no teams contact you about visiting.  If you know someone who might be interested in becoming a Therapy Animal Team, please have them contact us at info@northstartherapyanimals.org

Next Steps

After submitting the “Request a Visit” form below,  a NSTA volunteer will email you in 2-3 business days with any additional questions or to let you know the request has been sent to our 150 active therapy animal teams in the Metro Area.  Teams will then decide which requests are best suited for them and their animal partner. Their decision is often based on a facility’s location, days of week/times requested, facility type, # of people to be visited, animal suitability, ability to take on a new visit requests, etc.

Interested teams will contact you directly to schedule a visit.  You and the NSTA team are responsible for determining and maintaining all schedules, communications, etc.

Thank you for taking to read this information and help us assure that those with whom our teams will visit, as well as our NSTA teams themselves, are set up for successful visits!

We look forward to hearing from you!

Invite Us Over!

  • * - Required Field
  • Please make sure you have checked with your building landlords, building management, facility administration, etc to secure permission.
  • EXAMPLE Brandywine Hospital Eating Disorder Unit is an inpatient unit. We serve male and female patients from the age of 13 on up. We treat patients with anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. The visits will take place in a common room. We are flexible on times of visits. I’m sure the patients would find comfort and a change from the routine of our unit. Our patients are high functioning and again, would greatly benefit from some animal interactions. Parking is readily available and validated parking tickets will be provided.
  • For example: We have a resident dog in the building, Validated parking for volunteers. Volunteers need to attend an Orientation Session, have health screening and complete a background check prior to visiting, etc.
  • Accepted file types: jpg, gif, png, pdf, doc.

  • Please review the following information

  • Home Visit Policy

    For in-home visits, we require that the patient/client has an established relationship with a hospital, long-term care or healthcare agency that has an existing in-home volunteer visiting program. For insurance and liability reasons, in-home visits need to be supervised by a representative of that facility or by a healthcare provider. This policy applies to private homes, apartments, assisted living apartments, etc.

  • Does NSTA Charge for visits?

    NSTA is a non-profit organization, and all of our members are volunteers. Therefore we do not charge for visits. However, donations to NSTA, used for additional member education and community outreach, are always welcome. If you would like to make a donation to help NSTA further our great work, please visit https://northstartherapyanimals.org/donate/

  • Visit Requests Outside the Twin Cities Metro Area

    The majority of NSTA teams live and visit in the metro area. We will share your request with our NSTA teams, but we encourage you to post your request to the Pet Partners website as there may be Pet Partner teams in your area who are not associated with NSTA. Pet Partners Website https://petpartners.org/learn/pet-partners-at-your-facility/add-a-volunteer-opportunity/

  • Request for visits with hospice patients or patients in the hospital

    Please request a therapy animal visit directly through the Hospital's or Hospice Agency's Volunteer Department as these facilities require specific orientations, background checks, health screening,etc. before volunteers, including NSTA teams, can visit patients.

 

paw-logo-white-transparent60Leaving paw prints on the hearts of those we visit

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