North Star Therapy Animals
North Star Therapy Animals is a Minnesota-based volunteer nonprofit, founded in 2007, that operates 350+ Pet Partners-credentialed therapy animal teams visiting 320+ healthcare, educational, and community facilities across the Twin Cities and Western Wisconsin. It also delivers specialized Animal Assisted Crisis Response for disaster events.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersSaint Louis Park, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What North Star Therapy Animals does
North Star Therapy Animals of Pet Partners is a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization founded in 2007 and headquartered in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota, that delivers animal-assisted activities and therapy services across the greater Twin Cities metro area and Western Wisconsin. The organization recruits, trains, and credentials handler-animal teams — 350+ teams as of 2025 — exclusively through Pet Partners, the recognized gold standard in therapy animal registration and evaluation, providing insurance coverage and training standards. Teams deliver scheduled visits to 320+ facilities spanning hospitals (Methodist Hospital, VA Hospital, Park Nicollet, St. Paul Children's, Shriners Children's, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota), children's and family facilities (Ronald McDonald House, U of M Amplatz), educational institutions (University of Minnesota PAWS, Hennepin County Library R.E.A.D. program), senior care centers, and transportation hubs (MSP Airport).
The organization's product surface is centered on three core offerings: recurring therapy animal visiting services, the specialized Animal Assisted Crisis Response (AACR) program with 50+ teams available for immediate deployment in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin and $2 million per-incident insurance coverage, and monthly Zoom-based Introduction to Therapy Animals recruitment events. The underlying platform is the Pet Partners registration and evaluation methodology, which North Star has layered with 17 years of crisis response experience beginning with the 2007 I-35W bridge collapse and active membership in Minnesota VOAD for coordinated disaster response. Diverse species — dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, llamas, alpacas, and mini horses — broaden facility-matching flexibility.
The business model is donation-based with no pricing or paid services; the organization relies entirely on public contributions to support operations, while the 26,000+ volunteer hours logged in 2025 represent the bulk of delivered value. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: prospective handlers are recruited through monthly Zoom sessions and community outreach, while facility partners request visits through the website contact form. The customer base is broad and diversified across healthcare, education, senior care, transportation, athletics, and government/emergency response segments, with no paid customer concentration.
North Star Therapy Animals firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- North Star Therapy Animals
- Legal name
- North Star Therapy Animals of Pet Partners
- Website
- https://northstartherapyanimals.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- North Star Therapy Animals is a Minnesota-based volunteer nonprofit, founded in 2007, that operates 350+ Pet Partners-credentialed therapy animal teams visiting 320+ healthcare, educational, and community facilities across the Twin Cities and Western Wisconsin. It also delivers specialized Animal Assisted Crisis Response for disaster events.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
North Star Therapy Animals industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Animal-Assisted Therapy Services
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Foster & Volunteer Network Programs (BPAGAIAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Rescue, Transport & Emergency Animal Response (BPAGAIAB)
Keywords
Where North Star Therapy Animals is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Saint Louis Park
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
North Star Therapy Animals business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Donations: The organization operates as a volunteer nonprofit and relies on donations from the public to support therapy animal services and operations.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
North Star Therapy Animals product offering
Product offeringCore offering
North Star Therapy Animals provides volunteer-led animal-assisted activities and therapy visits by sending credentialed handler-animal teams to healthcare, educational, senior care, and community facilities across the Twin Cities metro area and Western Wisconsin. Its specialized Animal Assisted Crisis Response (AACR) teams deploy to disaster and trauma sites to provide emotional support, and it recruits and onboards new therapy animal teams through monthly Zoom information sessions. All services are delivered free of charge and supported by charitable donations.
Product overview
North Star Therapy Animals of Pet Partners is a volunteer-based therapy animal services organization operating in Minnesota. The organization offers therapy animal visiting services where registered animal-handler teams visit hospitals, schools, libraries, senior care facilities, airports, and other venues. Services include direct therapy visits, Animal Assisted Crisis Response for disaster situations, and educational programs. All therapy animals are registered with Pet Partners, the gold standard in therapy animal training and evaluation. The organization maintains over 350 volunteer teams serving more than 320 facilities, with teams available for immediate deployment in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Therapy Animal Services Trained handler-animal teams visit healthcare facilities, schools, libraries, airports, and senior care facilities to provide comfort, companionship, and emotional support to patients, students, seniors, and community members. Services are delivered free of charge to receiving facilities.
- Animal Assisted Crisis Response (AACR) Specialized deployment service providing trained and credentialed therapy animal teams to communities affected by natural, human-caused, or technological disasters. Each AACR team is insured for $2 million per incident and available for immediate deployment across Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.
- Zoom Introduction to Therapy Animals Monthly online introductory sessions for prospective therapy animal handlers, covering the basics of therapy animal work and the registration process with Pet Partners. Used as a volunteer recruitment and onboarding channel.
Quantifiable outcome
- 26,000+ volunteer hours of service in 2025
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use North Star Therapy Animals
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
North Star Therapy Animals technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
North Star Therapy Animals partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Pet PartnerscoreNorth Star Therapy Animals is an official affiliate/registry of Pet Partners, the recognized gold standard in therapy animal training and evaluation. All therapy animal teams are registered through Pet Partners, which provides the training standards, evaluation protocols, and insurance coverage for registered teams.
- Minnesota VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters)coreActive member of MN VOAD, coordinating with other disaster response organizations in Minnesota for integrated crisis response efforts.
- MSP AirportminorOngoing therapy animal visit program at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport providing comfort to travelers.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
North Star Therapy Animals competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- PetSmart Charities: Major animal welfare funder supporting therapy, rescue, and adoption programs nationwide. Functions as a potential institutional funding partner for NSTA rather than a direct competitor, but operates in the same nonprofit animal welfare ecosystem.
Direct peers
- Alliance of Therapy Dogs: National therapy dog organization providing volunteer handler-team registration, testing, and facility placement. Directly comparable service model — credentialed volunteer teams visiting hospitals, schools, and libraries — competing for the same volunteer pool and facility relationships.
- Good Dog Foundation: New York-based therapy dog nonprofit providing facility visits, crisis response, and handler training. Comparable in mission, volunteer model, and inclusion of crisis response (similar to NSTA's AACR program).
- Pet Partners: National nonprofit registry and gold standard for therapy animal training and evaluation; NSTA's parent organization. Operates the same therapy animal visiting model across the U.S. and sets the credentialing, evaluation, and insurance framework that NSTA's 350+ teams operate within.
- Pets for Vets: Nonprofit pairing shelter dogs with veterans for therapeutic benefit. Overlaps with NSTA's VA Hospital visits and veteran-focused programming, with a more narrowly defined therapeutic use case.
- Intermountain Therapy Animals: Utah-based nonprofit operating the R.E.A.D. program (the same literacy program NSTA delivers) and therapy animal visits across hospitals, schools, and libraries. Closest structural peer — regional nonprofit with R.E.A.D. licensing and facility-visit focus.
- Love on a Leash: National nonprofit therapy dog organization with regional chapters delivering facility-based therapy visits. Comparable volunteer-driven model serving healthcare and educational facilities, with similar Pet Partners-adjacent credentialing approach.
Broad incumbents
- Canine Companions for Independence: Largest U.S. nonprofit provider of service dogs (mobility, hearing, PTSD). Operates in the broader animal-assisted services space but focuses on task-trained service dogs rather than therapy visits — comparable mission, different delivery model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
North Star Therapy Animals social profiles
Digital presenceNorth Star Therapy Animals compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
North Star Therapy Animals financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
North Star Therapy Animals leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
North Star Therapy Animals funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
North Star Therapy Animals M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about North Star Therapy Animals
What does North Star Therapy Animals do?
North Star Therapy Animals provides volunteer-led animal-assisted activities and therapy visits by sending credentialed handler-animal teams to healthcare, educational, senior care, and community facilities across the Twin Cities metro area and Western Wisconsin. Its specialized Animal Assisted Crisis Response (AACR) teams deploy to disaster and trauma sites to provide emotional support, and it recruits and onboards new therapy animal teams through monthly Zoom information sessions. All services are delivered free of charge and supported by charitable donations.
Is North Star Therapy Animals a public or private company?
North Star Therapy Animals is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was North Star Therapy Animals founded?
North Star Therapy Animals was founded in 2007.
Where is North Star Therapy Animals based?
North Star Therapy Animals is headquartered in Saint Louis Park, United States, in the North America region.
How does North Star Therapy Animals make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations.
Who are North Star Therapy Animals's main competitors?
PetSmart Charities is listed as an others. Direct peers are Alliance of Therapy Dogs, Good Dog Foundation, Pet Partners, Pets for Vets, Intermountain Therapy Animals and Love on a Leash. Canine Companions for Independence is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does North Star Therapy Animals have an API?
No public API is recorded for North Star Therapy Animals.
What industry is North Star Therapy Animals in?
North Star Therapy Animals's product category is Animal-Assisted Therapy Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAIAF, Foster & Volunteer Network Programs, with a secondary code of BPAGAIAB, Rescue, Transport & Emergency Animal Response. Its SIC code is 8300.