Afternoons With Puppy ― Lessons for Life from a Therapist and His Animals

Afternoons with Puppy is a heartwarming account of dynamic relationships and outcomes involving a therapist, his therapy animals, and his patients, gathered from almost two decades of ongoing practice. It is a narrative of Dr. Aubrey H. Fine's experiences and his growing respect for the power of the animals' effects on his patients and himself. Fine observes that healing is rarely, if ever, accomplished in isolation. There is always a reaching out and a connection at the heart of the therapeutic enterprise. Afternoons with Puppy reveals the ways in which our bond with animals centers our being. Interacting with an animal, as simple as having a puppy in your lap gnawing on your thumb, strips away the unimportant and provides the neutral, primal ground on which healing and new growth can take place. Afternoons with Puppy is an emotional journey that will continue long after the last page.

Dr. Aubrey H. Fine, a clinical psychologist and a professor at California State Polytechnic University, is an internationally renowned expert on animal-assisted therapy (AAT). He is the editor of the classic book on the subject, The Handbook on Animal Assisted Therapy (first edition, 2000; second edition, 2006), and has published other works in the areas of parent/child relationships, learning/attention disorders, and sports psychology. Cynthia J. Eisen teaches literature and mentors freshmen students at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York. As a parent, she brings firsthand knowledge of the benefits of animal-assisted therapy for a child with learning disabilities.