Delta Pet Partners of San Antonio (Delta PPSA) shares the comfort of companion animals with people in need in medical facilities, schools, extended care facilities, military bases, shelters, children’s advocacy centers, and other various settings in the greater San Antonio area.
We are the only community partner of the national Pet Partners® organization, formerly known as Delta Society. This human services organization was founded in 1977 and is dedicated to improving people’s health and well-being through positive interactions with animals.
Join Delta Pet Partners of San Antonio. For benefits of membership, click here.
This all-volunteer, nonprofit organization participates in animal-assisted therapy programs and educational presentations that promote the benefits of the human/animal connection.
We visit various facilities with our personal pets to offer comfort and compassion. Please check our Frequently Asked Questions before contacting us. We do not perform rescues, use service dogs, or offer obedience training.
The Delta Society Pet Partners® program was established in 1990 to ensure that “both ends of the leash,” people as well as animals, are well-prepared to participate in animal-assisted activity and animal-assisted therapy programs.
Pet Partners is the only national registry that requires volunteer training and screening of animal-handler teams.
Potential Pet Partner Teams are required to follow all Pet Partner policies and procedures in order to become registered Pet Partners. Handlers must be able to learn and demonstrate the skills necessary to visit safely with your animal in hospitals, nursing homes, classrooms, and other facilities.
You can do this in two different ways:
1. Attend an 8-hour Pet Partner Team training course when one is available and then be evaluated as a team.
2. Or you can complete an online course through Pet Partners.org and then be evaluated.
Learn more about becoming a registered Pet Partners team by contacting us or check out our Calendar of Events page for upcoming evaluation dates.
Click here to become a Member
Click here to Donate
Have you ever read to a dog? Dogs like to be read to, even if they have their eyes closed. Research studies have shown that children whose reading scores lag behind their peers suffer from a fear of reading aloud in the classroom.
This program improves children’s reading and communicating skills by employing a powerful method: reading to a dog—but not any dog. Our dogs are registered therapy animals who volunteer with their owner/handlers as a team and go to schools and libraries as reading companions for children.
When a dog is listening, a child’s dread is replaced by eager anticipation and learning occurs. The handler is a skilled facilitator, shifting performance pressure away from the child and providing support.
When children read to dogs the experience is magical—there is no other way to describe it!