For Veterinary Science students in the Grayson HS Technical Education Program, another side of animal science— tails wagging— came to school recently. Here's a perspective from Katie, a student in the program: “Atlanta Pet Partners is a volunteer-run health care assistance organization training individuals and their animals to become nationally registered therapy teams. These therapy teams visit various hospitals and nursing homes to help people through occupational therapy. Their visit to the GHSTEP Veterinary Science program allowed us to see a side of veterinary science beyond injuries or illnesses, but rather the therapeutic effects of animals on humans. During their visit, a team of handlers introduced their dogs and their program, explained the processes involved in becoming a nationally certified therapy team, and invited us to join the program through training to become a team or volunteering for the company. In addition, they allowed the students to pet their dogs to demonstrate their therapeutic effects on humans. The handlers claimed they could watch of all the students’ stress melt away as they loved on these dogs. In all, the Atlanta Pet Partner’s visit opened our eyes to the world of occupational therapy and the plethora of positive impacts animals can have on humans.”
Photos from the visit were taken by Kelli, a GHSTEP Commercial Photography student.
