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Florence Nightingale, Mother of AAT
In 1860 Florence Nightingale, the mother of modern nursing, introduced the idea that animals can improve human mental health, specifically anxiety and depression among patients who returned from the Crimean War in 1854 with "irritable heart," or PSTD. She suggested a small bird as a companion animal for patients with chronic illness. Nightingale's first patient, before she became a nurse, was a neighbor's injured sheepdog, Cap, whose leg had been broken by local boys. -
Sallie, Civil War Comfort Dog
1st Lt William R. Terry's dog an American Staffordshire Terrier named Sallie was a member of the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry during the American Civil War. Sallie started as a mascot and then comforted soldiers on the front. She was present at Gettysburg and at every battle until she was killed at the Battle of Hatcher's Run, Virginia, in 1865. Several soldiers dropped their weapons to bury her despite being under attack. The 11th's monument at Gettysburg features a bronze likeness of Sallie. -
Sigmund Freud & Jofi
In the 1930s Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, introduced his dog Jofi to his patients during their therapy sessions with anxious patients to gauge their stress levels. His understanding of the importance of using a dog in therapy did not come out until 2 decades after his death when people read his letters and journal. Freud depended on Jofi himself to manage his own stress with his jaw cancer. -
Smoky, WWII Military Therapy Dog
Smoky, a Yorkshire Terrier, was found in New Guinea in 1944 during World War II. At first a mascot, she became an emotional support dog for wounded troops. She learned more than 200 hand signals and commands, survived more than 150 Japanese air raids and 12 rescue and reconnaissance missions. Smoky also provided entertainment for veterans in hospitals all around the Pacific and, later, in the US until she passed in 1954. -
Boris Levinson & Jingles
Dr. Boris Levinson was a child psychologist who treated children who had trouble communicating. One day he introduced his dog Jingles to alleviate the stress a child was experiencing in his therapy sessions. Levinson found that non-communicative children became more emotionally aware and receptive when Jingles was present. When Levinson shared his findings at the American Psychological Association, he was not taken seriously, but eventually became known as the father of AAT. -
Therapy Dogs International
Therapy Dogs International (TDI) was founded by a nurse Elaine Smith in 1976 as an organization to match therapy dogs to individuals with certain disabilities. Smith saw the positive effects of dogs on patients and started TDI to formally train and officially certify therapy dogs. Today TDI is a large volunteer organization that licenses volunteer handlers who visit nursing homes, hospitals, and other institutions across the United States and around the world. -
Between Pets and People
In 1983, Alan Beck and Aaron Katcher published their study Between Pets and People, the first book to present data proving that the relationship between people and their pets improved human mental and physical health. Their ideas became widely accepted. Additional data and case studies were added in the 1996 and 2015 versions of Between Pets and People. The moral of their book was that we should learn to love ourselves unconditionally, the way our pets love us. -
First AAT Dog Breeds
Labrador and Golden Retrievers have been the most common dogs used to assist individuals with depression and anxiety. Both Labs and Goldens were the most common breeds used by Therapy Dog International, founded in 1976, because of their calm and sociable temperament. This breed is known to be affectionate and unusually empathic. The Delta Society (now known as Pet Partners), founded in 1977, was one of the first organizations to train and register therapy dogs. -
Disaster Stress Relief Dogs Officially Born
The first instance of dogs assisting victims of disasters was in 1995 when the Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed; 168 people were killed and another 680 injured. Pet Partners sent more than 20 dogs to comfort survivors. The success of these dogs led the way for many other organizations to introduce dogs to help people traumatized by war, accidents, and natural disasters. From this terrible tragedy, the term Disaster Stress Relief Dogs was born. -
First Therapy Dog on the Witness Stand
In 2003, in Washington State, Jeeter, a Labrador mix, was the first dog to go on the witness stand to comfort and support two 7-year old girls who had been abused by their father. According to the children's mother, Jeeter was warm and loving and like a mother herself, and the girls were comforted immediately. The girls demonstrated selective muteness, but through the unconditional love Jeeter showed them, they found their words on the stand. -
First Therapy Dogs on College Campuses
In 2009, Sharon Franks, the Head of UC San Diego's Office of Student Wellness brought dogs to campus to calm college students during high stress periods. Universities across the country followed suit, introducing dogs to help alleviate anxiety when students were preparing for exams. Throughout the 2000's, universities like Yale, UC Davis and Santa Cruz, and U of Wisconsin began using dogs to help students dealing with a variety of stresses, including mental health challenges. -
Takefumi Kikusui & Science of Dog Therapy
Dr. Takefumi Kikusui led a team of scientists that conducted the first experiment that measured increased oxytocin levels in both humans and dogs during their interaction. Kikusui discovered that oxytocin levels increased most when the owner and the dog gazed into each others' eyes. This gazing at one another seemed to have the same biochemical effect as when a mother looked into her child's eyes. -
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Dogs
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990 to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities. Formal recognition of psychiatric service dogs as a distinct category within the field of service animals did not, however, become law until 2010 when the ADA was amended to include psychiatric service dogs, ensuring that individuals with mental health disabilities have the same right to have service animals as those with physical disabilities. -
Origins of the National Therapy Dog Appreciation Day
In 2016, Pet Partners introduced the first National Dog Therapy Appreciation Day, and held its first celebration on April 11th. Since then, many organizations adopted this event, with celebrations taking place across the United States. The goal of this holiday is raise awareness about the theraputic impact dogs have our lives and all the beautiful and remarkable ways they heal humans. -
Dogs Affect Brain Waves
In March 2024, Korean scientists provided irrefutable evidence that dogs change hormones in human subjects and strengthen their brain waves. Thirty adults were brought to a grooming school and asked to play, massage, groom, hug, and walk with a four-year-old poodle. EEGs were used to measure brain activity. These tests showed increased specific oscillations that indicated mood stability and greater relaxation after spending time with the poodle.