We study what animal-assisted therapy (AAT) actually does to stress and wellbeing at work. It's been used in clinics for years, but almost nobody has measured how it plays out on the job — where the effects usually get described in stories, not numbers. We bring standardized, repeatable methods to that gap, so good programs can finally be judged, compared, and funded on real evidence.
On August 12, 2026, we brought Bailey — a four-year-old Shetland sheepdog and certified therapy dog — into Keller-Heartt Oil Co. and ran an anonymous survey with the team. This was our first field visit, and as much a test of our instruments as of anything else. What follows is what the responses showed at this one site — not a general finding about animal-assisted therapy.
Baseline responses described a workforce that was steady rather than struggling: most respondents weren't especially looking forward to the day, and satisfaction over the previous two weeks clustered at “moderate.” Responses collected after the session were uniformly positive. Both sets are reported below as collected.
The 10-item Perceived Stress Scale — a widely used, validated measure of perceived stress that anchors our surveys.
A 20-item instrument that incorporates the validated PSS-10 with custom items designed for on-site animal-assisted therapy programs. Undergoing ongoing refinement.
It only takes a few minutes, and every response makes the evidence stronger.
