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Facilities
Our program of animal-assisted activities and therapy involves members of both the Cornell and the Ithaca area communities. Volunteers and their pets make regular visits to the organizations listed below. At these facilities we engage in a variety of activities ranging from informal "pet-the-pet" classroom activities to individualized therapeutic regimens (e.g. speech therapy, physical therapy) involving the human/animal team and a trained therapist.
Alterra Clare Bridge Cottage
BOCES, Darwin C. Smith
BOCES Northeast
Cayuga Medical Center at Ithaca
Hospicare
Kendal at Ithaca
Lakeside Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Lansing Residential Center
Recently added - The Louis Gossett Center
The MacCormick Center
Oak Hill Manor
Racker Center
The Reconstruction Home
We welcome volunteers with and without pets. All volunteers are committed to regular visitations with participating facilities. The Volunteer Training prepares members for visits by addressing the principles and process of animal-assisted activities/therapy and the details of what to expect on a visit. Participating pets should be calm, reliable, and healthy. Animals must be licensed (dogs only), vaccinated, and free of external and internal parasites and declared healthy by a veterinarian. Animals must pass the Cornell Companions Pet Screening Test that evaluates how the animal relates to people, other animals, unfamiliar situations, and mildly noxious stimuli.