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Project Proposal For

“Paw-Sitive - Animal Assisted Therapy” Project

Introduction
• About Animal Assisted Therapy ………………………….. 2
• About Animal Angels Foundation ………..……………….. 3

Project outline
• Purpose of the project ……………………………………. 4
• Project Details ….…………………..………….. 5
• Uniqueness of the project ………………….…………………. 9
• Benefit for the sponsor ……………………………………. 9

Work Profile of Animal Angels ………………………………… 10

Contact Details ………………………………….…………………... 12

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Introduction

What Is Animal Assisted Therapy?

Animal Assisted Therapy is the scientific and systematic use of animals as a therapeutic
medium for the mentally and physically ill. Various animals like dogs, cats, fish, rabbits
etc are used for therapy. These animals undergo special training in order to be therapy
animals.

Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) can be termed as the utilization of animals as a

therapeutic modality to facilitate healing and rehabilitation of patients with acute or
chronic diseases. It is defined as “a goal-directed intervention in which an animal is an
integral part of the treatment process.”

AAT is directed and/or delivered and documented by a health/human service professional

with a specific clinical goal for a particular individual in mind. Physical therapists,
occupational therapists, certified therapeutic recreation specialists, recreational
therapists, teachers, social workers, and others can incorporate AAT into their work and
treatments in a multitude of ways. AAT is designed to promote improvement in human
physical, social, emotional, and/or cognitive functioning. AAT is provided in a variety of
settings, and may be group or individual in nature. This process is documented and
evaluated.

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About Animal Angels Foundation

Animal Angels is India's first NGO consisting of mental health/human

health professionals trained in Animal Assisted Therapy, animal
behavior and training. The goal of the therapy is to enhance the
quality of human life through interaction with animals.

Animal Angels was formulated by a vision to create awareness about

the benefits of the animal human relationship and the healing effect of animals on
human. We at Animal Angels aim at involving more and more professionals and like
minded people for the cause beneficial to both humans and animals. Animal Angels is a
database of information for AAT and related activities in India. We have a network of
institutes, trained animal therapist, health professionals, volunteers and pet owners with
their trained therapy pets from all over India.

Animal Angels is currently working with special children in schools and institutes all over
India. It also works in the psychiatric setting, day care centers for bipolar and depressed
and institutes for special children, and Cancer Patients. Animal Angels would soon be
extending its work for Rehabilitation center Old age homes Schools for normal children
with learning disabilities, terminally ill patients Hospitals, nursing homes , and a lot more
avenues.

Animal Angels works in the avenues of giving therapy, conducing research, training and
awareness.

Therapy: The Animal Angels team of trained professionals and volunteers along with
trained therapy animals provide Animal Therapy and Animal Assisted Activities at various
settings all across India. The settings range from normal schools to old age homes,
Special schools to palliative care Cancer centers.

Research: Animal Angels conducts scientific research on effects of animal therapy in

various fields and document it for further reference.

Training: Training health professionals, pet owners, and volunteers in incorporating

animals in treating people.

Awareness programs: Educating people about the therapy and the benefit of human
animal bond.

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Project Outline

Proposed Project
Proposal for Funding of “Paw-sitive - Animal Assisted Therapy” Project

Purpose of the Project - Animal Assisted Therapy is a very unique therapy which
helps these special children in improving their self confidence, social skills, physical
skills, emotional responses etc. Most important of all, it gives them the unconditional
love which helps them to heal faster.

We request sponsors and funding organization to support this project so that this therapy
can reach out to the people in need. Every school has a different program of Animal
Assisted Therapy according to the school’s requirement. Hence the cost of each project
varies from institute to institute.

The total financial requirement for this year is Rs.4, 62000.

Following are the institutes where we intend to start the project. Under this project,
Animal Angels Foundation will be providing therapy to the following schools and
institutes.

• David Sasoon Juvenile Delinquent center, Matunga

• Little Sapling school for slow learners, Dadar
• KEM hospital research project for rehabilitation center, Pune.
• Bal Kalyan Sanstha, Pune

Number of children benefiting from this project

Little Sapling: Caters to around 500 plus children in the slow learner, learning
differences category. This project is for a group of 16 children, 6 children with
developmental disabilities and 10 children with learning disabilities.

KEM Hospital, Pune: Pilot project for 6 children, which will be studied in a case
study format. This will then be extended to the entire rehabilitation department which
caters to almost 200 children a day.

Bal Kalyan Sanstha: Bal Kalyan Sanstha Pune, founded in 1979, is a Recreational and
Cultural Centre for disabled children in the state of Maharashtra, India. Around 1200 to
1500 children with various disabilities attend the center weekly from areas in and
around Pune.

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Project Details
• David Sassoon juvenile delinquent center: The Institution recognized as
Special Home by Children’s Act 1986 & 2000, is run by the Children’s Aid Society
which is a State Government aided voluntary organisation that provides services
for the protection, care, treatment and rehabilitation of destitute, delinquent,
victimized and mentally deficient children. There are roughly anywhere between
120 and 200 boys staying at the school at any one time. The boys have usually
ended up here due to different scenarios, some of which are - Stealing an apple,
because he was living on the streets for one reason or another and he has no food
or money so desperate measures led him to take the apple , Working under the
legal age in a factory, The more serious criminal cases are also there such as rape.

Project description:

The use of pets as part of the rehabilitation efforts for children considered to be 'at risk'
for trouble with the police or school has shown promising results. Animals are
nonjudgmental and show unconditional acceptance and love. The youth learn
responsibility and trust; have someone to talk to, and come to feel needed and worthy.
Animals seem to be able to bring out these qualities in the youth almost without effort.

Under the AAT project a visiting therapy dog will be brought to the center and the
children will be made to interact with the dog. Activities like handling the dog, training
the dog will be aimed at inculcating values and sense of responsibility in the children. A
clinical psychologist will work on the emotional and behavior problems of these children
with the help of the therapy dog. Before the therapy starts, each child will be evaluated
for Baseline Scores. Goals will be set according to the requirement of the children. After
every three months of therapy, mid term evaluation will be taken. The scores will be
compared to the baseline scores to see the extent of progress in the children.

Since most of the results are based on expression and emotions, the therapy sessions are
video recorded. This helps us in documenting the important data which a\otherwise
cannot be written down. E.g. Improvement in eye contact or the child expressing love for
the dog etc.

Project results can be shared with the donors on request.

Project Duration - One year (academic), One session a week

Total estimate of the project – Rs.1, 44000/- for a year

Rs. 12,000/- per month

Expenses – (per month)

• Therapy Charges – documentation and evaluation – Rs. 4800/-
• Documentation and Equipment for the therapy animal - 3200/-
(Video camera and cassettes can be provided by the institute.)
(Includes a body belt for the dog along with the therapy jacket, toys, food treats)
• Travel Expense (for the therapy dog and 3 volunteers): 4000/-

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• Little Sapling school: School For Appropriate Learning (SAPLING) was set up
to cater to the needs of those students who could not continue in the mainstream
for academic reasons, but did not fit into any of the special schools then in
existence. Today, SAPLING has formulated a holistic educational curriculum for
these students, both academic and co-curricular, with the intention of
mainstreaming.

Project description –

When children find it difficult to read and learn, especially because of the fear of being
judged, there is no better reading buddy than a dog. Animals motivate children to lear in
a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Animal Assisted Therapy and Animal Assisted Reading
program will be given to the children in the school on once a week basis. A trained
therapy dog will be brought to the school for a 1 and a half hour therapy session.

This will be the first of its kind pilot study documented on AAT and learning differences.
The children will be divided according to age and ability. Before the therapy starts, each
child will be evaluated for Baseline Scores. Goals will be set according to the
requirement of the children. After every three months of therapy, mid term evaluation
will be taken. The scores will be compared to the baseline scores to see the extent of
progress in the children.

Since most of the results are based on expression and emotions, the therapy sessions are
video recorded. This helps us in documenting the important data which a\otherwise
cannot be written down. E.g. Improvement in eye contact or the child expressing love for
the dog etc.

Project results can be shared with the donors on request.

Project Duration -
One year (academic)

Total estimate of the project – Rs.96000/- for a year

Rs.8000/- per month

Expenses -

• Therapy Charges – documentation and evaluation – 3200/-

• Documentation and Equipment for the therapy animal - 2000/-

(Includes a body belt for the dog along with the therapy jacket, toys, food treats. Video
cassettes, editing charges etc)

• Travel Expense (for the therapy dog and 3 volunteers) – 2800/-

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• KEM Hospital, Pune – The KEM Hospital, Pune, India, is the largest
Non-Govt. Organization hospital in the Pune District of Maharashtra State.
This is the first hospital research and documentation project on AAT in
India. We will be working with the KEM hospital’s TDH Rehabilitation
Centre which has all departments like physiotherapy, counseling and
testing, speech therapy etc.

Project description –

The therapist at the Rehabilitation will select six cases for this pilot project of AAT.
There will be three sessions in a week. Every session will have two children
undergoing therapy, half an hour for each child.

Three trained therapy dogs will be selected for this project, which are registered
under Animal Angels Foundation. A file of these dogs will be submitted to the
hospital administration, which will include their health and temperament details
(vaccination papers etc).

Consent forms will be given to the parents of the participating children, which will
include the permission for their child to undergo Animal Therapy as well as
consent to be photographed and video documented. A volunteer will record the
observation as well as video document all the sessions.

Project Duration -
One year

Total estimate of the project – Rs.1, 50000/-for one year

Rs. 75000/- for 6 months (Phase 1)

Total – 3000/- per week

• Therapy charges – 1200/-

• Conveyance cost (for the therapy dog and therapist) – 700/-
• Documentation (on paper and video) - Rs.600/-
• Equipment cost (video cassettes, toys, treats, belts) - 500/-

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• Bal Kalyan Sanstha, Pune: founded in 1979, is a Recreational and Cultural

Centre for disabled children in the state of Maharashtra, India. Around 1200 to
1500 children with various disabilities attend the center weekly from areas in
and around Pune.

Project description –

Animal Assisted Therapy will be given to the children in the school 3 times a week. A
trained therapy dog will be brought to the school for a 1 and a half hour therapy session.

The children who come to Bal Kalyan Sanstha are of various disabilities and come from
different schools on different days. So there will be a new group for therapy every day. A
trained therapy dog, the therapeutic fish tank and the residential animals (rabbits, gees)
in the institute will be used for therapy.

Since most of the results are based on expression and emotions, the therapy sessions are
video recorded. This helps us in documenting the important data which otherwise cannot
be written down. E.g. Improvement in eye contact or the child expressing love for the
dog etc.

Project results can be shared with the donors on request.

Project Duration – One year

3 sessions a week of two hours each

Total Expenses – 72,000/- for a year

Therapy charges – 6000/- per month

Therapy charges include:

• Therapy, Documentation and evaluation 4000/-

• Equipment for the therapy animal – 500/-

(Includes a body belt for the dog along with the therapy jacket, toys, food treats)

• Transportation of therapy animal (on actual fare – to and fro) - 1000/-

• Documentation
(Video camera and cassettes can be provided by the institute.) - 500/-

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Uniqueness of the Project

• Pawsitive Animal Therapy project will benefit over 2000 people

• Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a novel concept, implemented

very few times in India

• AAT Promotes Human wellbeing and Animal welfare

• AAT provides scope of research and documentation

• Animals provide unconditional love and acceptance to the

special children who are usually neglected by the society.

• The animals also provide companionship to these children and

help them to heal.

• Animal Assisted Therapy can be conducted along with any other

ongoing therapy. It helps in speeding up the recovery process.

Benefit for the sponsorors

• Giving back to the Society through Human as well as Animal
Welfare

• To be a part of the a first time project in India

• Being listed on out website (banner advertisement)

• Publicity through newspapers covering the projects

• To be able to help over 3000 children through this project

• Setting an example for the others in social responsibility

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Major projects by Animal Angels

Developmental Centers

1. AAT research project at Jidd School. Trained an in-house therapy dog Kutty for the
school– 2003 to 2007
2. Pilot project at ICMH’s Skills and Ability School, Nerul (AAT for autistic children)
3. Research project (AAT and Autism) and Animal Assisted Therapy project for
Prasanna Autism Center, Pune. Trained an in house therapy dog Sophie, a Labrador
for the school.
4. Animal Assisted Activity program with a therapy cat for the mentally challenged
children at Pune Sevasadan Society’s Dilaasa Kendra
5. AAT for special children at Shri Ma Snehadeep, Hiranandani, Thane with therapy
dog Goldie, a golden retriever.
6. Animal Assisted Activity session for the special children at Sindhu Vidyala Pune,
with therapy dog Rex, a golden retriever
7. “ Therapeutic Aquariums for Cancer Patients” at Cipla Cancer Centre, Pune
8. AAT for disabled children at Bal Kalyan Sanstha, catering to over 1000 children
9. Animal Assisted Activity for slum children of SOS Balgram, Pune
10. AAT for AIDS orphans at Manavya Foundation, Bhugaon, Pune.
11. AAA for children with hearing and speech impairment at Mookdhwani Vidyalay,
Vile Parle, Mumbai
12. Animal Assisted Activity for Vidya Jyot School for slow learners

Individual Cases:

13. Four cases of AAT for hyperactive child in Thane and Pune
14. Neil Joshi (training in-house therapy dog Ronnie, a golden retriever and providing
AAT for autistic child)
15. Animal Assisted Therapy for a girl with emotional and behavior problems
16. Three cases of AAT for autistic child with visiting therapy dog at Thane

Medical Centers:

17. KEM (King Edward Memorial Hospital) Mumbai – orientation program on AAT for
post traumatic stress
18. Ruby Hall Clinic Cancer Center, Pune – India first demo on AAT for Cancer Patients
and orientation program on AAT for the consultants and doctors at the hospital, visit
from a therapy dog at a Christmas party arranged for pediatric patients suffering
from thalasemia, Cancer and heart problems.
19. Cipla Cancer Palliative Care Center, Pune – AAA with fish bowls
20. Animal Therapy session for women Cancer patients in association with Cancer
Patients Aid Association
21. Dinanath Mangeshkar Pediatric Cancer Center Pune – proposal for AAT for pediatric
cancer patients given

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Community Service projects:

22. Raahat ka Ehsaas, animals for the rehabilitation of families of 7/11 train blast
victims, in association with Bombay Psychiatric Society, KEM hospital and Rotary
Club. Accompanied by therapy dog Kutty and Goldie, a Labrador and a Golden
Retriever respectively
23. AAT for post trauma stress – for Mumbai Railway Police, Mumbai who were
affected by the 26/11 terror attacks.
24. Animal Assisted Reading sessions for British Council Library and Crossword
bookstores

Educational Centers:

1. Orientation program for graduate students of Nagindas Khandwala college, Mumbai.

2. Orientation program for postgraduate students of psychology at SNDT University
Mumbai.
3. Demonstration cum orientation program for graduate students of psychology of
Vivekananda College, Chembur at Jidd Special School
4. Workshop for teachers at Saundnya Sanvardhan Special School, Nagpur
5. Certificate course in AAT for professionals and students held at SNDT University –
January 2008
6. Certificate course for professionals and students held at Vidya Mahamandal
Resource and research center, Pune – February 2008
7. Animal Assisted Reading programs at Jungle Book Library, British Library and
Crossword Bookstores, Pune
25. Introduction to Animals” an educational Project for normal school children at Little
Flower school, Andheri.
8. Educational program called “Introduction to Animals” for play group and primary
children at Euro Kids, Mulund.
9. Proposal for Animal Assisted Reading for special need children at Mercedes Benz
International School.

Research Papers presented at conferences:

1. Research Paper titled ‘Benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy for the mentally
challenged’ submitted for presentation at the Fourth International Conference on
Child and Adolescent Mental Health to be held in October 2006, by Institute for
Psychological Health, India and Child Study Center at Virginia Tech, Department of
Psychology, USA
2. Presentation of research paper at the BPA (Bombay Psychological Association)
Annual Conference on Child and Adolescent mental health January 2007, along with
volunteers and delegates of Animal Angels
3. Research Paper titled “Animal Assisted Therapy and Autism” selected for
presentation at the International Conference on Psychology in Mental Health at
NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Science), Banglore to be
held on 26 July 2007.

Awards:
Washington based international organization Delta Society’s “Beyond Limit Award 2007”
for the AAT practicing professional category.

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CONTACT DETAILS: Animal Angels Foundation

Mrs. Minal Kavishwar

Founder, President

Pune Office:
1, C-1, Krishnanagar,
Erandwane, Pune - 4, Maharashtra, India.
Contact: Off- +91-020-25411555,
Mobile- +91-9987509102

Mumbai Office:
501, Vijay Tower,
Bhaskar Colony,Thane(W), Maharashtra, India.
Contact: +91-022-25373200,
Ms. Manasi Vartak (coordinator) - +91-9833990793

Website: www.animalangels.org.in

Email: animalangels@animalangels.org.in

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