Prerequisites for the Person

• The person handling the animal (handlers) must be at least 10 years old.
• Handlers younger than 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and must have written permission to participate from a parent or guardian.
• People who do not have an animal may also register as Pet Partners.

Prerequisites for the Animal

• All animals except birds must have lived in the owner's home for at least 6 months.
• Birds must have lived in the owner's home for at least 1 year.
• All animals except "pocket pets" must be at least 1 year at the time the animal is evaluated. Pocket pets (e.g., guinea pigs, rabbits, rats, etc.) must be at least 6 months at the time the animal is evaluated.
• Dogs trained to aggressively protect and/or encouraged to actively bite, even as a component of a dog sport (e.g., bite work that is part of Schutzhund) may not be Pet Partners.

Animals That Can Be Pet Partners

There are a great many species that make wonderful visiting animals and can form a strong human-animal bond. Only domesticated animals may become Pet Partners. Examples of registered pets include dogs, cats, Guinea pigs, rabbits, domesticated rats, horses, goats, llamas, donkeys, potbellied pigs, cockatoos and african gray parrots.

Wild or exotic animals (e.g., snakes, ferrets, lizards) may not be Pet Partners.

The next few pages provide a great deal of information about the evaluation process so that you make make your own assessment of your team's readiness. The path to becoming a registered Pet Partners Team consists of 4 main areas:

Attend a Pet Partners Workshop or complete Delta Society's Home Study Course.

Complete the registration and evaluation form packet.

Schedule a Pet Partners Team Evaluation (testing) appointment.

Decide if you'd like to join Therapy Pets of Greater Cincinnati.