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DowneastDogNews.com
Volume 20 • Issue 5 • MAY 2025
Celebrating Therapy & Service Dogs By Susan Spisak
A
pril 30th was National Therapy Animal Day and with Service Dog Month coming in September, now’s a great time to celebrate both! To honor the hardworking, loving canines as well as their owners/ teammates, let’s look at various categories, as well as local groups and individuals who participate. (Other animals may be therapeutic, but the focus here is dogs.) Emotional Support Animals (ESAs), particularly dogs, provide comfort, companionship, and reduce anxiety to individuals with emotional or mental health conditions. They can be any breed or age, but the pet needs to be prescribed by a licensed mental health professional with a valid ESA letter. ESAs aren’t trained to perform specific tasks—and they’re not protected under the Americans with
See CELEBRATING on page 5
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