Pet therapy: Fido might be the next paid health-care professional

"Pearl Salotto was first introduced to the practice in the late 1980s. Her children had given her a Samoyed as a gift. She named it DJ, to replace another dog that had just passed away. She signed up for a pet-assisted therapy program at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., where she took four courses that led to a certificate in 1987.

From the moment she brought DJ into a nursing home for his first visit, she knew: “I wanted to do this full-time.”

In fact, she said, she believed that every person in America had a right to a loving dog. And she believed that every medical and social service institution in the country should have a pet-assisted therapist on staff, to help make that happen."

Read the full article.