This book will provide the reader with a well rounded understanding of animal-assisted therapy, or "pet therapy." Animal-assisted therapy is a therapeutic tool that is used to faciliate the client's treatment and recovery process. Some of the people who will benefit from reading this book include counselors, school counselors, social workers, educators, students, and anyone interested in animal-assisted therapy. Teachers may implement this book in their instructional materials.

Authors, books, journals, articles, and resources have been consolidated into a descriptive designed graduate level thesis. There is a detailed table of contents that will allow the reader to quickly access the section he or she is looking for. A glossary consisting of animal-assisted therapy topics is provided. This book reads easily and will engage the reader.

Ways to integrate land and marine mammals into the client's treatment will be shown, as well as kinds of land and marine mammals to be utilized. Animal-assisted therapy may be utilized with many clinical diagnoses and therapeutic issues. There are many types of facilities that may benefit from animal-assisted therapy. Examples and further explanation will be given addressing these topics.

Basic tenets, ethical issues, and certification will be explained. Within the helping professions, ethics are vital and certification has become mandatory in many states. The needs of the client, the clinician, and the animal will be discussed. Benefits of animal-assisted therapy will be included.

Resources that will facilitate the implementation of animal-assisted therapy will be shown. The reader who would like to pursue animal-assisted therapy in further detail will be given additional resources. The goal of this descriptive designed graduate level thesis was to consolidate many good works into one book. As time advances, the material presented in this book will continue to be useful.