Written by: Rachel Holly
There’s something truly special about the bond between people and pets. It is a bond that is even more on display in the work done by specially trained therapy pets. That’s exactly what the amazing team at Nashville Therapy Pets is all about – bringing the joy and comfort of therapy animals to those who need it most. Whether it’s helping kids at school, bringing smiles to hospital patients, or providing companionship to seniors, these furry volunteers are making a big difference. Today, we talk with Rebecca Pyle, President/CEO of Nashville Therapy Pets, and find out how these lovable pets are brightening lives all around town.
MTP: I think a lot of people have heard of therapy pets but don’t have a clear idea of what exactly they are or confuse them with service dogs. Explain to us what a therapy pet is?
Rebecca: Therapy pets are trained to relieve stress and brighten people’s days vs service animals that are trained to help one person by performing specific tasks. Therapy pets are owned by their handler and that owner has chosen to train their pet to do therapy work. Almost all therapy teams (handler & owner) are volunteers. Therapy pets are trained to serve a vast array of people and different types of environments. However, sometimes handlers can find their pet prefers certain types of visits and so they may choose to stick to those types visit opportunities.
MTP: Tell us a little about your background. When did you become interested in therapy pets and start training them? And how did NTP begin?
Rebecca: I started with my first therapy cat, Connelly in 2017. I adopted him in August 2016 and noticed how much he seemed to like people so I started looking into ways that I could allow him to interact with other people. I later adopted a second cat, Nora in 2020, who when I was looking for a new addition I wanted to be able to use them for therapy work also. She is a therapy rockstar and just about put her brother out of business.
We launched NTP in July 2023 with several teams coming from another organization because we wanted to be able to focus on serving in our community and it’s specific needs.
MTP: What regions do you serve?
Rebecca: We serve all of Nashville and surrounding counties. We often do visits in Franklin and Murfreesboro.
MTP: What qualities do you look for in a potential therapy animals?
Rebecca: Temperament is key, but not the only factor. They have to love people, all shapes, sizes, and ages. We do a vast array of visit types from schools to senior living communities, businesses, medical offices, the VA, and even the airport. Teams mostly are there to relieve stress but pets can also encourage seniors in their day and kids to read. They have to have good obedience and training also.
MTP: What is involved in training a therapy animal?
Rebecca: Every animal is different and going to require a different amount of work to get different levels in life. NTP requires a Canine Good Citizen, which is a AKC obedience title for all of our members before they take our Canine Training Test. Most pets can be started young with puppy training and then graduate to a CGC. We do not require members to take specific training classes, but they are welcome to do so. We also do not require they use specific trainers, as every pet is different and owners may want to focus on additional training items other than therapy work that can be beneficial for the pet.
MTP: What breeds of dogs are best for this?
Rebecca: Some breeds may be a little better suited than others, but most any breed can be a therapy dog. We welcome all breeds and even the mutts – as today even the most designer breeds are still mixes of some sort. Several of our animals now are rescues and they make great therapy pets, but we also have some stars among our pure bred pets too. It takes all types in this life and we’ll take them all, every shape and size. NTP does not have any breed restrictions other than wolf or coyote crosses are prohibited.
MTP: I love that you have both dogs and cats. How is the training different for them?
Rebecca: Cat have their own style as most of us know. I currently serve with both our NTP cats and they are both different. Connelly is very much a slower speed guy and loves getting to visit with seniors and veterans. While Nora is a jack of all trades and can do literally anything I throw at her. She regularly does the airport and school readings, business visits, medical offices, as well as seniors and veterans. While the cats may not have to go through formal training like a dog would, they still have to have excellent temperaments and be very tolerant of people and noise. It also helps if they get along with the dogs, as NTP teams love getting to do visits together, which is one of the things that sets us apart from other therapy organizations.
MTP: How has the Nashville region embraced NTP?
Rebecca: We have new visit requests every day, the demand for us to come and spread some love to others is extremely high! We’re always looking for new teams to join us, just so we can keep up with the demand! We even welcome teams from other organizations to join us, because we have so many requests. We’ve grown in recognition in the short time we’ve been around, but it’s a wonderful thing to see when the community appreciates the work we do. As a volunteer based organization, that’s wonderful to see. We want to serve as much as we can.
MTP: What are your most memorable experiences so far with NTP?
Rebecca: Our airport visits are always special, but being able to answer the call when we’ve heard of heartache has been nothing short of amazing. We’ve heard of someone regaining the will to fight illness after a visit with one of our teams. We helped a school community after the sudden loss of a beloved student. We answered the call after the tragedy of a school shooting. These are type things that make the work we do, worth it. Those are the visits that remind us why we do therapy work in the first place.
MTP: How do you get word out about your service?
Rebecca: We post regularly on our Facebook page, trying to show the work we get to do. But often times people just find us through our website or word of mouth. We’ve had several libraries reach out after the first one asked us to come. Some times good news spreads like wildfire.
MTP: What plans does NTP have for the future? Where do you see the organization going down the road?
Rebecca: We hope to continue to grow by adding additional teams to keep up with the high number of requests we get. We do our best now, but it can be a struggle. We also hope to eventually branch out into other species. We love our cats and dogs, but a horse or ferret would be fun!
If someone is interested, how do they contact you?
Rebecca: Email is the best way to contact me. It allows me to keep everything in writing so things don’t get lost!
What else would you like our readers to know about Nashville Therapy Pets?
Rebecca: We love this work we get to do, and as volunteers we try our best to give everyone a chance to experience the love these pets have to give. We are federally recognized non-profit, so if you’d like to help in the work we do, please visit our website for ways to donate to help us continue serving our Nashville community.
