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| Photo by Hand in Paw. |
In Episode 20 of ON THE ROAD WITH MAC AND MOLLY, I visit with Kitty Terry, Executive Director of Hand in Paw (HIP), the internationally-known,
Birmingham, Alabama-based, animal-assisted therapy organization.
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| Photo by Hand in Paw. |
HIP, founded in 1996, provides professionally trained
animal-assisted therapy teams to help people heal physically and emotionally.
These 120+ teams (which are made up entirely of volunteers) address abuse,
disabilities, illiteracy, and chronic and terminal illness, through more than
50,000 visits a year in more than 50 facilities in the state of Alabama.
Kitty, sharing from a heart of great passion for the work, shares
stories of wonderful successes through each of HIP’s programs: PETSCRIPTION, SIT,
STAY, READ!, and PAWSITIVE LIVING™.
PETSCRIPTION volunteers work with patients to provide
medical, psychiatric and rehabilitation services via interactions between them
and their therapy animals. Whether it's visiting a child in his or her hospital room,
bringing joy to an elderly person in a nursing home, or providing motivation to an individual during a rehabilitation session, the therapy animals bring joy, comfort, and
lots of hugs.
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| Photo by Hand in Paw. |
SIT, STAY, READ! helps reluctant young readers who are
performing below grade level to overcome embarrassment and improve skills by reading
aloud to a non-judgmental therapy animal. This program was first conducted in
association with libraries and now helps improve literacy skills in other
settings as well.
PAWSITIVE LIVING™ is an innovative 12-week program that teaches compassion and anger management to high-risk youth.
PAWSITIVE LIVING™ is an innovative 12-week program that teaches compassion and anger management to high-risk youth.
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| Photo by Hand in Paw. |
On this program, as well, we hear about the wonderfully
innovative Picasso Pets, HIP’s signature event and fundraiser. In this, a
family’s or individual’s pet (a dog, a cat, a bird, a pig, a horse . . . whatever
furry or feathery creature it is they love) is paired with a professional
artist (the pet’s “muse”) to create a masterpiece. Each human artist helps each animal artist use its feet and/or tail to paint across a canvas. Sometimes, a nose is employed as a stamp.
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| Photo by Hand in Paw. |
Each canvas is then stretched, the artist puts on the finishing touches, and . . . there you have it: the most unique piece of artwork you will ever own - especially because it was created with the love of and for an animal. The artwork is then auctioned off in conjunction with other large auction items, and is accompanied by a silent auction. All the proceeds from each year’s event are poured back into addressing the organization’s mission of helping people heal.
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| Photo by Hand in Paw. |
