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For more than 30 years we have believed the bond with animals helps people feel better. That is why we were the first to introduce Animal-assisted Therapies in Spain.
Since 1995, we have managed to create more than 30 programmes in which we have been able to help hundreds of people with different needs. Something we would never have achieved without them: our therapy dogs.
Canine Assisted Interventions (CAIs) consist of therapeutic activities in which an education or health professional uses an animal that meets specific criteria and has been specifically trained for this purpose as an integral part of a treatment process. In this process, objectives are set and the interaction between the user and the animal is guided, quantifying progress and assessing results.
Thanks to this type of therapy, we can work on 4 different areas. On the physical level we enhance the movement, physical activity, motor skills and balance of patients. In the cognitive field, we work to improve memory and all learning processes. On an emotional level, we encourage their freedom to express their feelings and emotions. And finally, in the relational field, we increase their motivation to relate to those around them by improving interpersonal relationships.
With our 13 therapy programmes we focus on the power of the bond between dogs and children.
Buddies is our therapy programme for foster children. These children learn how to train the dogs, previously selected by a methodology based on positive training that emphasizes the welfare of the animal and its instructor (the children).
As the days go by, the bond between them becomes stronger and stronger, something that helps them acquire a positive attitude, improve their emotional communication or increase their self-esteem, among many other benefits.
More than 700 inmates in 14 Spanish prisons have been able to care for and live with 33 dogs.
In 1993, we delivered the first pair of dogs to the prison and in 2008 we launched the TACA Programme for Assisted Therapy in prisons.
We currently implement two types of programmes. One focused on the inmates taking care of the dogs on a day-to-day basis and a second programme in which the health and education professionals at the centre use the animals to work on emotional and behavioural aspects.
Thanks to these programmes, the animal helps the inmates to develop emotionally, increasing their confidence, self-esteem, sense of responsibility, competence, empathy and autonomy. In this way they can develop more flexible and healthy attitudes in their daily lives.
Year after year, thanks to our therapy dogs, we continue making elderly people happier.
Many elderly people living in nursing homes suffer from health or social problems, have difficulty communicating with others, may feel lonely and isolated and need external stimuli to feel happy again.
Animal-assisted Therapy programmes for the elderly improve their quality of life, providing benefits such as the reduction of depression, stress and anxiety and particularly their feeling of loneliness. A process that improves their physical and mental health.
Pioneers in Spain in this type of therapy in court.
The Affinity Foundation and the Departament de Justícia de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Department of Justice of the Government of Catalonia) have carried out a pioneering programme in Spain: the first dog-assisted therapy for alleged victims of gender-based violence or crimes against their sexual freedom.
Thanks to the help of our dogs we have been able to reduce the anxiety levels and improve the physical, emotional and mental state of the victims. A prerequisite for regaining self-esteem and self-confidence.
