Emotional Support Animal Companion Program
In 2009 our family moved to California, to the beautiful city of San Francisco. Angela’s husband continued to see patients at his home for therapy sessions. From time to time, patients came earlier than the appointed time and spent time in the guest room playing with the Sphynx cats. This went on for some time until we began to notice obvious improvements in the well-being of our patients. My husband, while interacting with patients, noticed an amazing consistency: Patients who spent time with Sphynx kittens before the sessions were able to return to everyday normal life much faster. The quality of life experienced by our patients has improved significantly, a stable remission dynamics has appeared. The mood and appetite improved, desire to communicate with society and be part of it developed.
We were very surprised when all our interviewed patients unanimously said that thanks to the connection and co-dependence that was formed between the Sphynx cat and the patient, they were able to find peace and understanding of themselves and the stressful situation they wanted to go through.
Impressed by this development, we contacted our colleagues at the “European College Of Veterinary Surgeons” in Zurich and received confirmation of our hypothesis. I joined forces with my husband and together we started working on the Emotional Support Animal program. A couple of years later, we were able to breed the first offspring of Sphynx kittens that met the high standards of an Emotional Support Animal and could be used for therapeutic purposes.
In 2015, our kennel became the first Sphynx kennel in California to be certified by the “IESAN” International Emotional Support Animal Association for its high breeding standards and sound selection program for the Emotional Support Companion Program.
Today, we work with veterinarians, psychologists and patients around the world to improve the quality of life for those less fortunate than us. We continue to develop, learn and educate our colleagues and Sphynx enthusiasts on the therapeutic values and integration of Sphynx cats into therapeutic programs for successful recovery.
