Animals have been human companions for many centuries providing a source of peace and calm to those around them; however, the use of animals in a structured therapeutic environment is a fairly recent phenomenon. Animal therapy involves involving animals in the healing process, which has been proven effective in helping many types of people. Whether it's a dog, cat, bird, rabbit, or even a horse, all types of animals can be trained to help people's emotional and physical health in simple and amazing ways. The use of animal therapy with highly trained animals can benefit the emotional and physical health of a variety of people, including children, seniors, and individuals with unique circumstances. Healing can take many different forms, such as being in the company of a child, throwing a ball for a dog, petting dogs by students before a test, or even simply petting a soft animal. Animal therapy is a recently studied form of healing. Animal therapy was established by the Delta Society in 1977 as the official method of administering therapy. The Delta Society was initially organized as a way to help the public on the basis that most people in the world knew that an animal could help them in some way, but the Delta Society has continued to provide conclusive research and programs to demonstrate the effectiveness and validity of the use of animals in therapy. For about 30 years the organization has provided official definitions of the two different approaches to animal therapy. The two different programs are Animal Assisted Therapy and Animal Assisted Activities. The official definition of Animal-Assisted Activities or (AAA) is from the Delta Society reported in Animal-Assisted Brief Therapy: A Solution-Focused Approach, which defines AAA as an event...... middle of paper..... . Mar. 2014. Christensen, Jen. “Therapy Dogs: 'Perfect Medicine' to Help Students Survive Finals.” CNN. Cable news network. Turner transmission system. December 19, 2013. Web. March 24, 2014. Crawford, Jacqueline J., and Karen A. Pomerinke. Therapy animals: the animal-human healing partnership. Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2003. Print.Healy, Michelle. "Schools do their best to relieve children's stress." United States today. USA Today Information Network, August 21, 2013. Q4. Network. March 26, 2014.Hlavacek, Joanna. “Therapy dogs are a reminder of the healing power of animals.” The Sacrament Bee. The Sacramento Bee, March 20, 2014. Network Page No. March 30, 2014. Pichot, Teri and Marc Coulter. Animal-assisted brief therapy: a solution-focused approach. Binghampton, NY: Hartworth, 2007. Print.Rovner, Julie. “Pet Therapy: How Animals and Humans Heal Each Other.” NPR. National Public Radio, March 5, 2012. Web. March 24. 2014.