Do you know the difference between a therapy animal and a service animal? Most people use these two terms interchangeably, but they are actually two very different things. Therapy animals provide physiological and psychological therapy to people other than their owners. Service animals help their owners perform tasks that the owner cannot do on their own.

What types of animals can be therapy animals? What tasks do they perform, and what environments can they work in? In this week’s episode, I’m speaking with Elisabeth Van Every, the Communications and Outreach Coordinator for Pet Partners. Pet Partners is the nation’s largest and most prestigious nonprofit organization that registers handlers of therapy animals.