Community News

Pet Partners Animal-Assisted Crisis Response Teams Provide Comfort and Compassion to Los Angeles First Responders and Fire Victims

 
by: Mary Tan
Published: February 10, 2025

 

 

BELLEVUE, WASH....Pet Partners, the nation’s leading nonprofit serving people and communities through therapy animal interactions, has helped lead the effort to provide therapy dogs to help first responders deal with the stress of the California wildfires. Pet Partners’ Animal-Assisted Crisis Response teams have been deployed to the area and are working nonstop to comfort those who have fallen victim to the Palisades and Eaton wildfires.

We have a crisis response team, which has been doing nonstop work in the Los Angeles areas affected by wildfires. One of our contestants is Sabine Dochmaschewsky and her bunny Otis, who are residents of Huntington Beach.

This all comes as Pet Partners announces its national search for its 2025 Pet of the Year. Now in its fourth year, this critical event is a six-week fundraising competition that takes place March 3 to April 14. The funds raised help train and evaluate therapy animals for programs like crisis response. The national nonprofit is asking the public to nominate their pet for the contest while raising money for the important programs Pet Partners offers.

The 2025 title will go to the pet whose team raises the most funds during the competition. The winner will be crowned on April 15 in a virtual celebration. There will also be some amazing prizes for the top fundraisers, and lots of pet-focused products worth thousands of dollars.

“With the California wildfires, everyone who enters will help us raise critical funds that will provide more therapy animal visits to people who are in crisis situations. We know research shows animals have a healing impact on the mental health of people in dire situations,” said Traci Pryor, Development Director of Pet Partners.

Several crisis response teams have signed up to participate in the Pet of the Year competition to help keep their program’s funding going.

The animals are a stress reliever and bring joy to people in very difficult situations. We depend on grants and donations to fund our programs, which is why we need our Pet of the Year fundraiser. It's one of our biggest fundraisers and the pet and owner that raises the most money become our pet of the year! All animals, no matter what species, are eligible to compete!

Pet Partners is the leader in the therapy animal field for registering volunteer teams. Since 1977, we have supported thousands of teams in making millions of meaningful visits across the country and around the world. Through the human-animal bond, we can improve the physical, social, and emotional lives of both the people and animals involved. Pet Partners supports volunteer teams by offering the highest quality preparation, an unmatched approach to evaluation and registration—for nine different types of animals—and a focus on connections. We elevate the importance of therapy animal visits, and our teams help build a healthier and happier world for us all.


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