 The American Veterinary Medical Association classifies therapeutic animal assisted interventions AAI into three categories: animal assisted activities AAA that utilize companion animals; animal assisted therapy AAT that utilizes therapy animals and service animal programs SAP that utilize service animals. AAT in particular, is a goal-directed intervention in which an animal that meets specific criteria is an integral part of the treatment process. AAT is technically defined as the use of trained animals by trained health professionals to facilitate specific, measurable goals for individual patients for whom there is documentation of progress . 