Since the 1980’s, there have been significant advances in the field of animal assisted therapy and the use of therapy dogs. Organized therapy dog groups provide educational material to volunteers, they screen both volunteers and dogs, and they provide liability insurance for when the dog and handler are volunteering in a therapy setting.
Therapy dog certification organizations are the experts in this field. It is their dedication that has organized and advanced the work of therapy dogs and their efforts should be acknowledged and appreciated. The following certification organizations are recognized by the AKC. A dog must be certified by one of these organizations to be eligible to receive the AKC Therapy Dog title.
AKC would like to thank the following national therapy dog registration/certification organizations for their assistance during the launching of the AKC Therapy Dog title:
- (formerly Therapy Dogs, Inc.)
- (previously Delta Society)
- (TD Inc.) – new name is Alliance of Therapy Dogs
Therapy Groups Listed Alphabetically
- (San Diego, CA)
- (San Francisco & greater North Bay area)
- (Colorado Springs area)
- (Brazos Valley area, TX)
- (Attitudes in Reverse) Therapy Dogs (NJ)
- 聽(Springfield, MO area)
- 聽(Greater Philadelphia)
- (NW Houston, TX)
- (Solano County, CA)
- (San Joaquin County, CA)
- (Southwestern PA)
- (Palm Springs area, CA)
- (LaCrosse, WI area)
- (greater San Diego, CA area)
- (Greater Austin, TX)
- (Central MA)
- (Beach Animals Reading with Kids) (California, Arizona)
- (Chicago area)
- (lower British Columbia)
- (Eastern Shore, MD)
- (Los Angeles)
- (Virginia)
- (Palm Beach, Broward, Dade, FL)
- (West Chester, PA)
- (Central FL)
- (New England)
- (Columbus, OH)
- (MI)
- (Florida)
- (Salisbury, NC area)
- 聽(Northern California)
- (Greater Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN)
- (Berkshire County, MA; NW Corner, CT; Columbia County, NY)
- (Chicago)
- (U.S.; other countries)
- (OH)
- (奥颈濒尘颈苍驳迟辞苍,听狈颁)
- (South Central TX)
- (NH and VT)
- (northern CO)
- (Lake County, FL)
- 聽(Greater Harrisburg, Greater Lancaster)
- (West Central FL)
- (Central Maryland)
- (Palm Beach County, FL)
- (Greater St. Louis)
- (Broken Arrow/Tulsa, OK area)
- (Savannah & Bluffton)
- (Cohasset, MA and South Shore of Boston)
- (Ponchatoula, LA)
- (southeastern PA, NJ, DE, MD)
- (Greater Phoenix, Maricopa County)
- (Cape Cod, MA)
- (Fairbanks, AK)
- (Lackawanna & Luzerne Co, PA)
- 聽(Ithaca, NY)
- (Greater Las Vegas area)
- (northern New Jersey)
- (Oklahoma)
- (Greater Austin, TX)
- (Long Island, NY)
- (central and southeastern Alabama)
- (Greater St. Louis, MO)
- (Triangle area, NC)
- (southeast NE & MO)
- (Door Co, WI)
- (MO: St. Louis metropolitan area)
- (western CT)
- (Fairfax County, VA)
- (Houston, TX)
- (Clear Lake, League City, TX and surrounding areas)
- (DE and southeast PA)
- (SE Ohio)
- (Baltimore, Greater Washington)
- (Palm Beach, Broward, Miami/Dade Co., FL)
- (Kendall, Kane, Dupage, Will counties-IL)
- (MA and RI)
- (Wilmington & Raleigh NC)
- (Gloucester County, New Jersey)
- (California — San Jose and Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties)
- (Coos County, OR)
- (Central & South AZ)
- (Pierce County, WA)
- (Gainesville, TX)
- (Atlanta area)
- (Naples, FL)
- (Phoenix, AZ area)
- (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
- (Greater St. Louis area)
- (Central VA)
- (Human Animal Bond in Tennessee)
- (Hapi Pet Therapy) (South Central KS)
- (Atlanta)
- (Nebraska)
- (front range CO)
- (mid-Florida)
- (Steamboat Springs, CO)
- (Minnesota)
- (Washington DC area)
- (Albuquerque, NM area)
- (national program)
- (MD)
- (Hudson Valley, NY)
- (Front Range, Northern CO, Denver area)
- (HALO) (Oklahoma)
- (Forsyth County (GA) area)
- (FL)
- (Miami, FL area)
- (southern AZ)
- (Select cities in CA, NV, and WA. See web page.)
- (Milwaukee, WI)
- (R.E.A.D. 庐)
- (Greater Charlotte, NC)
- (South central KY)
- (Fairfax County, VA)
- (Kerrville, TX)
- (SE WI, NE IL)
- (southeast/central PA)
- (Greater Quad Cities)
- (Greater Sacramento, CA)
- (Greater Los Angeles/Santa Clarita, CA)
- (NE Illinois area)
- – LEAP (Delaware)
- (Baton Rouge area)
- (Greater Los Angeles, CA)
- – LAPS (Napa, CA)
- (Lawrence, KS)
- (Greater Denver, CO)
- (Las Vegas Area)
- (Marin County, CA)
- 聽(Greater Chicago area)
- (Chicago area)
- (MVPTA) (Dayton, Ohio and surrounding counties)
- (Las Vegas area)
- (Flint, MI area)
- (So Central CA)
- 聽(Bloomington, IN)
- (Carroll Co, MD)
- (Nashville, TN)
- (Washington DC, Baltimore, eastern MD, southern VA, Delmarva region)
- (CT & RI)
- (NYC and boroughs)
- (NW FL)
- (Fremont, Newark, Union City, CA)
- (state of Ohio)
- (Greater Kansas City area)
- (Orange County, CA)
- (Philadelphia area)
- (Long Island, NY)
- (Greater Tulsa, OK Metro)
- (Howard County, MD)
- (Frankfort, KY)
- (SE Michigan)
- (AZ: Greater Phoenix and Tucson)
- (Spring Branch, TX)
- (PAT) (TX: Greater Dallas and Fort Worth)
- (Coachella Valley/Palm Springs, CA)
- (Greater Indianapolis, IN)
- (MD)
- (Sonoma/Marin counties, CA)
- (northern CA-Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Marin counties)
- (Salem/McMinnville, OR)
- (Houston, TX area)
- (Pet Assisted Visitation Volunteer Services, Inc.) (Parts of DE, PA, MD, NJ)
- (San Antonio area)
- (Rhode Island)
- (San Diego County, CA)
- (central NY)
- (Grand Rapids, MI area)
- (Lawton, OK)
- (MA and RI)
- (San Mateo and norther Santa Clara counties, CA)
- (PAL) (DC metropolitan area, northern VA, MD)
- (Iowa)
- (Greater Detroit/Ann Arbor, MI)
- (upstate NY)
- (southern CA)
- (50 mile radius from Springfield, MO)
- (eastern Massachusetts)
- (Maryland)
- (DE, MD, VA)
- (AZ)
- (University of Missouri)
- (PACTT) (Oregon, SW Washington)
- (Virginia)
- (Central PA)
- (metro Denver)
- (Seattle, WA area)
- (Pets Uplifting People) (Tampa Bay area, FL)
- 聽(Greater Quad City area)
- (Chicago and surrounding counties)
- (Western NY)
- (San Francisco)
- (Santa Fe, NM)
- (upstate of SC, north GA)
- (Seattle, WA)
- (So. FL, San Francisco area, upstate NY)
- (Longview, TX)
- (Chicago, IL)
- (Massachusetts)
- (Sonoma County, CA)
- (NM: Greater Albuquerque and Santa Fe)
- (Southern WI)
- (Paws for People Program) (northern NJ)
- (Canada)
- (Colorado Springs, CO)
- (FL)
- (Mendocino Coast of CA)
- (Charlotte, NC)
- (NY, NJ, CT, MA)
- (Greater east Texas)
- (Canada)
- (Greater San Antonio, TX)
- (southeast FL)
- (northwest PA and western NY)
- (VT)
- (Denton County, TX)
- (Austin, NW Houston)
- (CA: San Francisco-Oakland Bay area)
- (Ontario, Canada)
- (Fort Wayne, IN area)
- (Contra Costa County, CA)
- (Los Angeles area)
- (Central and SE Michigan)
- (No. California, East Bay)
- (Verde Valley, AZ)
- (MI)
- (Greater Colorado Springs)
- (Metropolitan New Orleans)
- (SF Bay area)
- (U.S.)
- (Dayton, OH area)
- 聽(Frederick, MD)
- (KY)
- (Southern Tier, Chautauqua County, NY)
- (Greater Western MI)
- (Rhode Island, part of MA)