Request a Visit

For the safety of our members and to help stem the spread of the coronavirus Covid -19 in our community, NSTA will suspend accepting new visit requests and are also recommending our members suspend visiting until further notice. Please check back later to see when we are again taking visit requests.

Thank you for your 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
Name of Primary Contact for Visits*
First Last
Title/Position of Primary Contact*
Phone Number of Primary Contact for Visits*
Email for Primary Contact for visits*
Enter Email Confirm Email
Name of Facility where visits will take place*
Ex: Flying Eagle School, First Samaritan Hospital, Golden Wings Care Center
Facility's Address*
Street Address Address Line 2 City State ZIP Code
Do you have permission to bring in Therapy Animals? (select one)*
Please make sure you have checked with your building management, facility administration, etc to secure permission.
Animal Species Preferred: (select all that apply)*
Facility Type: (select one)*
Venue Description ~ Where will the visit take place (select one)*
Will other non-North Star animals be present during our teams' visits?*
Knowing this helps NSTA teams be well prepared for their visit. Eg: we have a resident animal, we will have dogs from another group visiting too, we have birds in our lobby, some of our residents have animals, etc
If other animals may be present, please describe below
Staff Involvement During Visit: (select one)*
Activity Level of Facility where visits are occurring:*
Frequency of Visits: (Select one)*
If requesting a one time visit, please indicate Date/Time preference
e.g June 2, 10-noon, please note teams cannot visit more than 2 hours in one day. So additional teams are needed for visits longer than 2 hours.
Main Goal(s) for Visits (select all the apply)*
Number of Clients Participating Per Interaction: (select all that apply)*
Age of clients receiving visits: (check all that apply)*
Details: days/times for visiting, # teams requested. Please be as specific as possible. Please note teams are not allowed to visit more than 2 hours/day*
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. Visits will take place in a common room. We are flexible on days/times of visits. Our patients are high functioning and again, would greatly benefit from some animal interactions.
Other Information NSTA volunteer teams should know (ex:Parking, health screenings, facility specific volunteer orientations, background check, etc)
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.
Facility Website (optional)
Add Attachments or Logo (optional)
Accepted file types: jpg, gif, png, pdf, doc.
How did you hear about NSTA? (select all that apply)
Please review the following information before submitting your request
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 Twin Cities 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.

Therapy Animal Stars

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Request a Visit

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Request a Visit

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Please review the following information before submitting your request

Home Visit Policy

Does NSTA Charge for visits?

Visit Requests Outside the Twin Cities Metro Area

Request for visits with hospice patients or patients in the hospital

Leaving paw prints on the hearts of those we visit