North Star Therapy Animals

Therapy Animal Services in Minnesota

  • Who We Are
    • Therapy Animal Stars

      We are a group of dedicated volunteers who are passionate about therapy animal services and benefits they bring to individuals in our communities.

    • Who We Are

      • Our Story
      • Our Mission
      • Our Services
      • Meet Our Stars
      • Facilities We Visit
  • Become a Team
    • Wanted! More Teams

      We are looking for more therapy animal teams to join us. If you are interested in forming wonderful friendships, making treasured memories & finding personal fulfillment then you are in the right place!

    • Become a Team

      • Getting Started
      • Membership
      • FAQ
  • Our Animals
    • Leaving Paw Prints

      A therapy animal is a specially trained animal that partners with its human handler to volunteer at a variety of facilities and events, bringing joy, comfort, and companionship to those they meet.

    • Our Animals

      • Meet Our Stars
      • What is a therapy animal?
      • Who Uses Therapy Animal Services?
      • FAQ
  • News & Events
    • Therapy Animal Tales

      Read about the great work our teams are doing out in the field and stay up to date on what’s happening with the North Star Therapy Animals organization.

      Have a great story to share? Send us a note and let us know!

    • News & Events

      • News
      • Events
  • Request a Visit
    • We’d Love To Visit!

      Invite us over to bring happiness, companionship and courage to the people you work with.

    • Request a Visit

      • Request a Visit
      • Facilities We Visit
      • Our Services
  • Members
    • Membership Has Benefits

      Being a North Star Therapy Animal member has many benefits. You witness people make amazing transformations, your relationship with your animal grows and you also get to see what’s in this section!

    • Members

      • Member Login
  • Contact
    • Hello There!

      Want to learn more about North Star Therapy Animals? Fill out the contact form and we will get back to you.

    • Contact Us

      • Contact Form
      • Request a Visit
      • Become a Member
  • Crisis Response

Request a Visit

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 200 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 [email protected]

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 200 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 the time 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!

Descriptions of  Virtual and Touchless Visit Request options can be downloaded here.

Invite Us Over!

  • * - Required Field
  • Ex: Flying Eagle School, First Samaritan Hospital, Golden Wings Care Center
  • Please make sure you have checked with your building management, facility administration, etc to secure permission.
  • 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
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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, Max. file size: 300 MB.
  • 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.
  • Max. file size: 300 MB.

 

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North Star Therapy Animals
1 day ago
North Star Therapy Animals

Dudley is a North Star Therapy Animals with a huge presence. This boy loves people- especially children.

But he also adores CHEESE. We think he's a really Gouda boy!
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North Star Therapy Animals
2 days ago
North Star Therapy Animals

North Star Therapy Animals has welcomed more than 20new tail-wagging members in 2023 and thelist is growing. In May we added our first Boston Terrier – Moosie, our secondLeonberger – Welly, our third white Poodle –Mochi and our fourth Vizsla – Hazel. ... See MoreSee Less

North Star Therapy Animals has welcomed more than 20new tail-wagging members in 2023 and thelist is growing. In May we added our first Boston Terrier – Moosie, our secondLeonberger – Welly, our third white Poodle –Mochi and our fourth Vizsla – Hazel.
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Love seeing a standard poodle! Hopefully Sonny will be a NSTA therapy dog soon.

Welcome!!!

Hats off to my Moosie!

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North Star Therapy Animals
2 weeks ago
North Star Therapy Animals

Therapy dog, Dash, recently visited Woodwinds hospital where he entertained the nurses with his piano playing skills.

Now that's nurse appreciation!
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Therapy dog, Dash, recently visited Woodwinds hospital where he entertained the nurses with his piano playing skills.

Now thats nurse appreciation!
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Thank you Dash for bringing a smile to the staff . You are a star.

Awesome Job Dash Toby 💙❤️😊

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North Star Therapy Animals
3 weeks ago
North Star Therapy Animals

North Star Therapy Animals long-time volunteer, Louie, was one of the first three dogs to undergo this procedure.

Louie is doing great - be sure to say hi when you see him at upcoming Paws to Read events at Hennepin County Libraries!
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Clamping down on valve disease

profiles-vetmed.umn.edu

Cutting-edge cardiac procedure now saving canine lives at Veterinary Medical Center
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North Star Therapy Animals
3 weeks ago
North Star Therapy Animals

Zara's motto is "The more derriere pets the better." Zara is quite the sophisticate.

Of course this Pet Partners therapy dog volunteer speaks French, she's half poodle!
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All North Star Therapy Animals are registered with Pet Partners.

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