Loving Animals Providing Smiles

Since 2001, LAPS has created thousands of smiles by bringing high-quality and enriching in-person Animal-Assisted Interactions to vulnerable populations in Napa County. We serve children living with emotional or learning difficulties, teens and young adults dealing with life’s stresses, seniors in Assisted-Living and Memory Care, and patients in skilled nursing facilities. Volunteers and their pets perform behavior assessments and learn therapy skills during a multi-week training course for working with children, teens and fragile elderly.

LAPS volunteers and family help teams practice their skills in several diverse roleplay scenarios. New teams are tested to the highest standards every two years and mentored throughout their careers. Expanding on our unsurpassed training program, LAPS will soon offer an Introduction to Therapy Skills class as a first step for handlers exploring whether they and their pets might be successful as a Therapy Team.

LAPS welcomes dogs, cats, bunnies, mini-horses and mini-donkeys as therapy pets who work alongside their human partners to share unconditional love with clients of all ages.

Making a difference in the lives of clients of all ages.