Animal assisted therapy in occupational therapy works to achieve goals through the involvement of animals (in this case dogs) and is reliant on the human/animal bond. Using animal assisted therapy would not be useful if you did not have an interest in dogs. Animal assisted therapy IS NOT simply patting the dog, however, this can be useful in some therapy sessions. Examples of animal assisted therapy used in our sessions include: if you had a shoulder reconstruction and it was recommended that you complete a particular exercise for rehabilitation, we would incorporate games with Hudson such as throwing him the ball - overarm or underarm - to make the sessions more purposeful and functional.