Pate also offers Pet Therapy. We have volunteer Pet Therapy teams that come to both our Brinlee Creek Ranch and Villa Creek locations. Therapists and patients get to work on functional skills like walking and grooming while they help “train” the dogs. Daily hygiene skills are also covered. The dogs love to have their coats brushed. Did you know that dogs should have their teeth brushed regularly? A couple of our young adult patients got to brush Rhythm’s teeth. She is one of the regular pet volunteers and loves chicken flavored toothpaste! All the dogs love to work for treats and will play fetch. One of our patients who had difficulty speaking out loud loved to give the dogs commands like sit, stay, and roll over!
We have Pet Therapy horses that visit our Brinlee Creek Ranch location. They also love to be groomed and enjoy company. For safety, all therapies are done with the trainer and a functional therapist. Our two-legged and four-legged volunteers are very dedicated and enjoy coming to Pate. Everyone leaves with a smile!
