UK employees invited to send photos of their pets for UK Arts in HealthCare pet gallery

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 4, 2023) — May is National Pet Month, and UK Arts in HealthCare is inviting all UK HealthCare employees to submit photos of their pets for the photo exhibition.

Participants may submit one photo of their pet(s) that capture their pet’s personality — whether it’s funny, playful or sweet. Photographers of all skill levels are welcome to participate. Email your submission along with your pet’s name electronically to sarah.timmons@uky.edu. The deadline to submit is April 26, 2023.

At least one photo submission from each participant will be chosen and displayed in multiple staff areas (one by the UK Chandler Hospital Pavilion A staff elevator, one in Pavilion H, one in Kentucky Children's Hospital, one in the KY Clinic, and one in Good Samaritan) in May as part of National Pet Month. National Pet Month follows National Pet Therapy Day, April 30.

In addition to staff photo submissions, the dogs of the Animal Assisted Therapy Program at UK HealthCare will be featured. The Animal Assisted Therapy program is housed with Integrative Medicine and Health and is also part of Volunteer Services.

The core values of the UK Healthcare Animal Assisted Therapy Program are service, education and research. The program's mission is to enhance and improve the experience of all patients, families, caregivers, faculty and staff throughout the UK Healthcare enterprise by providing consistent and compassionate animal-assisted interactions. They strive to utilize each contact as an opportunity to provide the unique enriching experience that only human-animal interactions can offer. 

There are a variety of human-animal interactions in which therapy animal teams may participate. These include animal-assisted interventions (AAI), animal-assisted therapy (AAT), animal-assisted activities (AAA), and animal-assisted education (AAE). UK HealthCare teams primarily participate in structured AAI and AAT interactions in which our teams work with health care professionals to help patients achieve wellness, health, and therapeutic goals. AAA and AAE interactions are more recreational in style and emphasize enhancing quality of life. 

Animal assisted therapy is a growing field that supports people recovering from or coping with a variety of mental, physical, and emotional health conditions. While a variety of animals may serve in the field of animal assisted therapy, dogs are the most common species and the only species involved in UK HealthCare. Therapy animals are not synonymous with service or emotional support animals. Therapy animals have their own registration and training expectations, and they are pets whose owners have personally volunteered their time and resources to provide this volunteer service. 

UK HealthCare Animal Assisted Therapy teams consist of a volunteer handler and their personal dog. The handler owns and trains the dog before pursuing evaluation and registration through an outside registration entity. As of 2023, UK HealthCare Animal Assisted Therapy requires all prospective volunteer teams to complete education, evaluation and registration with Pet Partners. Pet Partners is a national therapy animal and volunteer nonprofit which educates handlers, registers teams, and supplies liability insurance.

If you have a well-behaved dog and are interested in joining our Animal Assisted Therapy Program as a team, please contact animaltherapy@uky.edu to learn more.