Frequently Asked Questions

Our volunteers work as teams to bring Furry Friends on visits to people who live in various kinds of institutions, e.g. nursing homes, facilities for disabled or seriously ill children, hospital rehabilitation wards, the Children's Shelter, psychiatric facilities, etc. Currently, our visits to facilities are in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and San Mateo counties, California.

Anyone who has ever owned a pet knows of the tremendous love and acceptance pets bring. Pets don't care how we look or even how we act; they love us unconditionally. For people who are in difficult life situations, pets can be of special benefit. Petting a dog, for instance, has been shown to lower blood pressure. Animals can often reach people when human relationships may be difficult. Scientific research has shown that interaction with animals can significantly improve humans' physical and emotional health. Put as simply as possible, pets make people feel good and help them heal.

Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy Services began in 1983 by Judy Kell, whose nine-year-old daughter came down with a rare and aggressive form of cancer that eventually took her life. Judy noticed that one of the very few things that lifted her daughter's spirits was the interaction with her cat. Judy, a veterinary technician by profession, consulted with Dr. John Quick, a veterinarian in Morgan Hill, and together with Dr. Cecil Agee, a pediatric physician, approached Lucille Packard Children's Hospital with the idea of bringing animals to the hospital. This was the first visitation of Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy Services.

Furry Friends is an independent, local organization. However, it is based on the principles of pet-facilitated therapy, a recognized and researched therapeutic technique.

We provide monthly visits at over 150 facilities through Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz counties. We have over 500 active volunteers, sharing the love of their animals with people in need.

The pets belong to the volunteers who go on visits. All pets must pass a physical and behavioral evaluation before attending visits.

Our visits are generally either one or one-and-a-half hours per month. Volunteers can choose from our participating sites to ensure they are on the team that best suits their schedule, location, preferences, and animal’s temperament. Members can belong to as many teams as they wish, so the decision of how much time to commit is really theirs.

We don't require any special training or certifications. We're looking for animals that naturally seek and enjoy human companionship. We require a veterinarian pet assessment of the animal's health, vaccination records, and temperament. Many Bay Area vets offer a discount for this evaluation; be sure to ask your vet when you schedule the appointment. The last step is for the new volunteer and their pet to attend an etiquette class held by our animal behaviorist. That's it.

Certainly. We have had members with birds, lizards, snakes, as well as guinea pigs, llamas, miniature horses, cats, pigs, rabbits, and mice. We haven’t had any fish volunteer yet, but would be willing to consider them!

All of the information and forms you would need are located on our website here. The process can take several weeks, as you need to get all of your forms filled out by your veterinarian, processed by our office, and finally, attend our class. We are an all-volunteer organization, so your patience is appreciated.

Yes, we love to have students join our teams, with or without pets, and with or without other family members. You'll need to check our requirements here to make sure they meet our eligibility and age restrictions for any particular facility that is of interest. You must be aware, though, that we only visit each facility on the average of once a month. That means that if your student needs several hours to fulfill a class requirement, it might take several months to do so. It can also take a few months to get your student into our new volunteer class. These are held once a month and all forms must be in our office at least two weeks prior to the class. However, classes fill up quickly and Furry Friends cannot commit to a particular class date.

We occasionally need administrative help for various projects. Students can also receive community service credit for working on computer activities, assisting a site as a roving photographer, etc. When these projects come up, we solicit help from our existing student volunteers.

Furry Friends is a wonderful organization for both kids and adults. We encourage students to get involved early in their school year to ensure that they receive the maximum number of hours possible.

We are always looking for more sites that need our special type of therapy. If you have a loved one in a facility that is willing to work with us, please let us know. You can have them fill out the new site application form on our website. However, Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy Services works in a team format. We don't authorize individuals to visit alone at a site. There must be a team captain and at least a few team members for Furry Friends to approve a visit.

Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy Services is a registered nonprofit corporation and governed by its Board of Directors. All Board meetings are open to the public. We are a volunteer organization. Our volunteers help administer, manage, and deliver our services.

Furry Friends depends on membership dues along with donations from individuals, “Amazon Smile,” and new site & special visit fees.  Many of our members pursue corporate matching funds by their employers to help support the good work we do. Check with your company to see if they have such a program. We do not receive any city, county, state or federal funding.  Furry Friends is a California non-profit corporation; all donations are tax deductible.

We suggest you contact your local animal shelter, veterinarian, or hospitals for recommendations of local organizations that do pet visitations. You can also investigate Pet Partners.

All of the information we have about pet therapy can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions. We are an all-volunteer organization and unfortunately, don't have the time or resources to assist in research projects.

Furry Friends Rescue is a separate organization from Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy Services. For more information about pet rescue, you can check out their web site here.