Staff Attitudes Regarding the Impact of a Therapy Dog Program on Military Behavioral Health Patients.

Background: Human-animal interactions in the form of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) have become common in both civilian and military health care facilities. Evidence supports AAT as a beneficial therapeutic alternative for patients with physical disabilities and psychological disorders. Few studies have been conducted in the civilian health care setting to evaluate staff attitudes regarding the impact of an AAT program on behavioral health (BH) patients.