The Animal Therapy Program at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare is celebrating its 40th year. Tom Flanigan reports the event included the unveiling of a big mural on an outside wall at the program's 6th Avenue headquarters on Thursday, July 24.
Animal Therapy Director Stephanie Perkins said things have come a long way since a handful of volunteers and dogs visited a few hospital patients every day.
"We have reached, I would guesstimate, over 500,000 interactions over the course of our program, probably close to a million. We do 35,000 to 50,000 every single year here, people that we interact with our animals."
Along with TMH patients, the teams also visit the regions nursing homes, schools and the courts. The program's anniversary celebration included unveiling a large mural of therapy animals painted on an outside wall of the organization's headquarters.
