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

Our Services

Goldie-Pawlicki-reading-with-children-300x238Therapy animal services consist of animal-assisted activities (AAA) and animal-assisted therapy (AAT).  Both are provided by North Star Therapy Animals.  We have an extensive list of facilities that welcome therapy animal teams for both animal-assisted activities and animal-assisted therapy, so there are lots of opportunities to get involved.

Animal-assisted activities can best be described as casual visits between a therapy animal team and individuals. There are no specific treatment goals involved in these visits, so detailed record-keeping is typically not required by the facility. Visiting dates are generally pre-scheduled, but the visits themselves are typically spontaneous and can last as long as the individual desires. The goal of these visits is generally to enhance an individual’s quality of life by providing them with joy and companionship.

Animal-assisted therapy is slightly different in that it incorporates a therapy animal team into formal therapeutic sessions directed by a therapeutic professional.  These sessions generally do entail detailed record-keeping by the professional. Animal-assisted therapy involves individualized treatment with stated goals, so the goal of these sessions is aimed at achieving specific therapeutic objectives.

Whether you’re a team looking for a facility, or a facility looking for a team, we can help!

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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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  • Likes: 24
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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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