Ready to work with therapy animals but unsure where to begin? Pet Partners and the Association of Animal-Assisted Intervention Professionals serve different roles within animal-assisted interventions (AAI). The right place for you depends on whether you plan to volunteer with your pet, or to incorporate a therapy animal into your professional work, or pursue both paths. pursue both paths.
Pet Partners prepares, evaluates, and registers volunteer therapy animal teams. AAAIP provides the professional education, certification, evaluation, resources, and community practitioners need to responsibly incorporate therapy animals into their work.
Both organizations support the human-animal bond and share a strong commitment to safe, ethical, and effective interventions. Their programs serve different needs within AAI.
Understanding that distinction can help you choose the path that fits your goals.
Start With Your Role
Start by considering how you plan to partner with a therapy animal.
You may strictly want to volunteer with your own pet during community visits. Or, you may be a counselor, educator, healthcare professional, social worker, occupational therapist, speech-language pathologist, or working in another position and wanting to incorporate a therapy animal into your paid work. Even as a professional, you may also want to volunteer in your free time at the same time that you bring AAI into your professional life.
Each path requires preparation that reflects the responsibilities of the role.
Pet Partners is generally the right starting point when your goal is to become a volunteer therapy animal team. AAAIP is designed for professionals who need education, resources, evaluation, professional certification, insurance that covers paid work, and peer support related to animal-assisted interventions.
Some find value in participating in both.
When Pet Partners Might be the Right Place
Pet Partners is a national leader in the registration of volunteer therapy animal teams. A Pet Partners team includes a handler and their pet who have completed the organization’s required education, evaluation, and registration process.
Registered teams volunteer in settings where they have been invited to visit. Depending on local opportunities, this may include hospitals, schools, libraries, senior living communities, airports, workplaces, and other facilities.
The Pet Partners process prepares volunteers to support safe and respectful interactions. It also evaluates how the volunteer and their animal work together as a team. Animal welfare is central to this preparation. Therapy animals should enjoy meeting people, recover well from unexpected situations, and remain comfortable within the environments where they visit.
Pet Partners registration also provides liability insurance for approved volunteer activities. This coverage applies when the team is volunteering within Pet Partners policies and procedures. It doesn’t extend to work performed as part of a paid professional role.
Pet Partners may be a good fit when you want to share your pet’s companionship through volunteer visits, build experience as a volunteer handler, or support people in your community without incorporating the animal into your profession.
When AAAIP May be the Right Place
AAAIP serves professionals who want to responsibly incorporate therapy animals into the work they are already educated, licensed, or trained to provide.
A counselor may include a therapy animal in a structured activity connected to a client’s treatment goals. An educator may incorporate a therapy animal into a planned learning or behavioral intervention. A healthcare or allied health professional may partner with an animal while working towards an established clinical outcome.
In each situation, the professional is responsible for the intervention. That responsibility includes more than managing the animal’s behavior. Professionals must also consider participant needs, animal welfare, documentation, infection prevention, risk management, workplace policies, informed consent, and the boundaries of their professional role.
AAAIP provides a roadmap for navigating those responsibilities.
Through membership, education, certification, professional evaluation, events, and practical resources, AAAIP helps practitioners build the knowledge and confidence needed to approach AAI with integrity.
You do not need to currently have a therapy animal to join AAAIP. Members may be preparing for a future partnership, collaborating with volunteer therapy animal teams, developing a program, managing staff, conducting research, or helping their organization create policies for AAI.
AAAIP meets professionals at many different points throughout the journey.
Why Professional Practice Requires Specialized Preparation
Working with a therapy animal in a professional setting means there are different rules, protocols, and responsibilities that may not be covered through other professional education.
A mental health degree, teaching credentials, healthcare license, or other professional qualification establishes expertise within a primary discipline. But it probably does not address animal behavior, zoonosis and infection prevention, therapy animal welfare, intervention documentation, or the ethical considerations that arise when an animal becomes part of professional practice.
Programs like Pet Partners are designed to prepare individuals and their pets for volunteer therapy animal visits, but they are not intended to address the complexities of integrating an animal into a licensed or paid professional role. They also outline rules that apply to volunteers but may not be accurate for professionals. For instance, volunteers may only visit for up to two hours at a time and therapy animals have to stay on leash during the entire visit. Professionals may follow a different set of rules, possibly structuring their days differently and having off-leash time during sessions.
Experience as a pet owner also has its limits. A strong personal relationship with an animal is valuable, but professional environments can introduce unfamiliar sounds, movements, equipment, people, schedules, and expectations.
AAAIP helps professionals identify what they know, recognize where additional preparation is needed, and develop a more complete approach to their work.
AAAIP’s educational framework addresses five core areas: animal welfare and well-being, zoonosis and infection prevention, animal behavior awareness, foundations of AAI, and professional best practices.
These areas support the safety and well-being of you, the professional, the people you serve, and the animal who partners with you.
Understanding AAAIP Membership and Certification
AAAIP membership and the Certified Animal-Assisted Intervention Specialist (C-AAIS) credential serve different purposes than volunteer therapy animal registration programs such as Pet Partners.
Membership connects professionals with education, events, research, templates, practice resources, and a community of peers working across a wide range of disciplines. It can help members answer questions, build support within their organizations, strengthen program documentation, and continue learning as the field develops.
The C-AAIS credential demonstrates foundational knowledge related to AAI. The certification exam evaluates knowledge across the five core content domains and provides professionals with a way to communicate their commitment to responsible practice.
Professionals may pursue membership, certification, or both, depending on your goals. Some individuals begin with volunteer registration through Pet Partners, while others begin with AAAIP when their goal is professional integration of therapy animals into their work only. Membership can provide valuable support before and after certification through continuing education, professional connection, and discounted access to select AAAIP offerings.
The Professional Therapy Animal Team Certification
A volunteer therapy animal evaluation and the AAAIP Therapy Animal Evaluation for Professionals are designed for very different roles. That distinction is important for anyone working in a professional setting.
The AAAIP Therapy Animal Evaluation for Professionals results in the Professional Therapy Animal Team Certification, which recognizes that a professional and their animal are prepared to work together in real-world practice settings. Rather than focusing on obedience or skills for visiting as a volunteer, this certification reflects how the team functions within the specific context of the professional’s work.
The Therapy Animal Evaluation for Professionals takes place in the professional’s actual workplace or in an environment that closely mirrors it. This allows the evaluator to observe how the team operates in the same types of conditions where they’ll conduct their services. The focus is on real-time decision-making, communication between the professional and the animal, and the ability to maintain both client safety and animal well-being during authentic interactions.
Throughout the process, evaluators consider how the professional guides the session, interprets and responds to the animal’s behavior, and adjusts interactions based on the needs of both the client and the animal. Equally important is the animal’s comfort and suitability for the specific professional role, since different environments, such as counseling offices, classrooms, healthcare settings, or rehabilitation spaces, each present unique demands.
The Professional Therapy Animal Team Certification is grounded in the Competencies for the Ethical Inclusion of Therapy and Facility Animals, which provides a clear framework for responsible practice. While volunteer programs such as Pet Partners emphasize readiness for visits in the community, AAAIP certification emphasizes readiness for professional application within a defined scope of practice. This ensures that this certification reflects not only skill, but also ethical awareness and alignment with best practices in AAI.
Consistent with these standards, professional certification is renewed every two years through a new evaluation. This ongoing process helps ensure that the team continues to meet evolving professional expectations and maintains safe, effective, and humane practice over time.
Insurance for Professional Work
Professionals should confirm that their insurance covers AAI.
Professional liability, employer coverage, and homeowner policies may include limitations or exclusions related to paid work with an animal. Practitioners should speak directly with their insurance provider and clearly describe how the animal will be incorporated into their professional role.
Insurance provided through volunteer therapy animal organizations like Pet Partners typically applies only to approved volunteer visitation activities and does not extend to paid or clinical work.
AAAIP offers access to liability insurance developed for professionals working in animal-assisted interventions. Anyone who holds an active C-AAIS and has completed the Therapy Animal Evaluation for Professionals is eligible to apply for this coverage.
This pathway was created for professionals with the specific risks and responsibilities of professional AAI in mind.
Can You Participate in Both Organizations?
Many professionals find that Pet Partners and AAAIP support different parts of their work.
A school counselor might volunteer with their animal through Pet Partners during community visits and incorporate the same animal into paid counseling work after completing the appropriate professional preparation. Another practitioner may direct a structured intervention while collaborating with a registered Pet Partners volunteer team.
In these situations, the volunteer and professional roles should remain clearly defined. Each role has its own expectations, insurance considerations, documentation, and boundaries.
Participation in both organizations can provide a strong foundation when the person understands which standards and coverage apply in each setting.
Find the Path That Fits Your Goals
Your next step depends on the work you want to do.
Pet Partners can help you prepare to volunteer with your pet as a registered therapy animal team. AAAIP can support you as a professional who wants to responsibly integrate a therapy animal into an established area of practice.
For professionals, that journey may include building foundational knowledge, developing policies, gaining organizational approval, selecting or preparing an animal partner, earning the C-AAIS, completing the Evaluation for Professionals, and securing appropriate insurance.
You do not have to navigate those decisions alone.
AAAIP brings together professionals who understand the opportunities, questions, and responsibilities involved in animal-assisted interventions. Through practical resources, continuing education, expert guidance, and peer connection, membership gives you support for the work you are building today, and the professional growth still ahead.
Your commitment to the people you serve and the animal who partners with you deserves a knowledgeable professional community.
Explore AAAIP certification and to start working towards your professional credential.
If you’re ready to start the journey to volunteering with your pet, start a Pet Partners Volunteer Center account.