Therapets Society {Therapets} is a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency. Therapets was founded in 2000 by veterinarians Sonja Kruse and Elijah Thomlinson. Sonja and Elijah shared an interest in the use of therapy animals for a wide variety of roles, including hospital visits to children and elderly patients, assistance for individuals with physical or cognitive disabilities, and companionship for the elderly. They strongly believed that individuals, and the community as a whole, benet when humans and animals can rely on one another*s strengths. Therapets began with three board members Sonja, Elijah, and Elijah*s wife, Laureen, who is a physiotherapist at a local medical clinic. In the early years, Therapets managed to raise approximately $100,000 per year from individual donors and corporate sponsors, and organized a program to have pet owners primarily those with dogs and cats provide volunteer hospital visits to children and elderly patients. The society also started its Forever Needed program, where therapy animal trainers visit dogs in shelters to assess their ability to work as therapy dogs. Those dogs that showed promise were adopted by Therapets and trained for service as general companion animals for the elderly. These companion dogs did not need the intensive training of a full-service assistance dog because they were not relied on for high-risk life assistance: they were only required to be obedient and able to assist in basic ways such as fetching items on command and maintaining a calm presence. Sonja, Elijah, and Laureen were elated that the Forever Needed program could save dogs from shelters and give them a meaningful life as a companion to someone in need. The bond formed between the dogs and the elderly recipients seemed more special because the recipients knew they had saved the animal that was there to help them. Since its inception, Therapets has grown to have a board of six directors. witl'I an annual budget of about $2.5 million. The level of funding received annuallyI from donors and sponsors varies significantly depending on the economy. Sonja has become the executive director of Therapets and has given up her veterinary practice, but she maintains her licence to allow her to he the in-house veterinarian for Therapets. The volunteer visitation program has been taken over by another group. and Thera pets\" main focus is now the Forever Needed program. That program still trains general companion dogs but has expanded to include training full-service assistance dogs for individuals who are blind, and for children and young adults with a number of other conditions, such as autism and epilepsy. Therapets operates its own training centre with paid trainers on contract. After working one-on-one with the trainers for many hours, an average of 3C) dogs per year graduate and go into full service. The society has developed its own training methodology that has been very successful, thereby increasing the speed at which the dogs can be trained for full service. Therapets works with a licensed organization that handles the process of matching the trained assistance dogs to their new human recipients. In addition to Sonja, Therapets has two staff members: an administrative assistant. and an animal caregiver who is in charge of feeding the dogs and keeping their sleeping and playing areas clean. Several volunteers help keep the dogs happy and healthy, and assist with basic training for newly rescued dogs that need a large amount of socialization to reach their potential. In the past, Therapets+ sole focus was preparing animals for placement with their new recipients. Recently, the society received a large, multi-year government grant to provide end-toend services for its assistance dogs and new recipients through the Forever Needed program. In addition to training, the grant will enable Therapets to provide education services to potential assistance dog recipients, match assistance dogs to potential recipients, and provide training to the recipients with their new assistance dogs. Ultimately, this program is expected to increase the number of successful dog-to-recipient pairings by providing these end-to-end services and a more comprehensive and consistent training experience. Therapets is excited about being direme involved in the process of matching dogs and recipients based on their individual personalities and needs. Therapets had been pursuing government funding to enhance this program for several years but had faced many challenges and setbacks along the way, and there was much uncertainty during the process. Future funding may also be uncertain depending on the state of the economy in the next few years and the parties in power at the various levels of government. For Therapets to continue to receive funding, including funding from the new government grant and from some of its larger sponsorships, an audit of the society is required. Currently the nancial statements are prepared by a local CPA rm on a non-audit basis. As an added challenge, the training centre's neighbours have been voicing concerns about the noise level of the dogs barking, so the municipal government has been evaluating the centre's practices and use of its property, to ensure that Therapets is not in violation of any municipal bylaws. Therapets has also been asked to act as an advocate for individuals who believe they would benefit from an assistance dog. In particular, a group of veterinarians called Vets for Vets has asked Therapets to join them in advocating for better support for war veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder. The Therapets board has been looking for ways to broaden the range of individuals who know about and have access to assistance dogs, and these advocacy opportunities may provide Therapets with a way to do this.The Therapets board members are excited about the new opportunities coming their way. The board consists of the following people: Years on Name Occupation Age Gender board Sonja Kruse In-house veterinarian, executive 44 Female 20 director of Therapets, and chair of the board Elijah Thomlinson Veterinarian 51 Male 20 Laureen Thomlinson Physiotherapist 49 Female 20 Yasid Ghaffour Veterinary student 25 Male 3 Chandra Choudhry Veterinary student 20 Female Darya Ballo Executive director of the local 42 Non- animal shelter used in the binary Forever Needed program Board members have been selected for their match with the society's mission, and their training and experience in each case has concentrated on animals and health. The board's only committee is the audit committee, which is chaired by Sonja. The following appears on Therapets' website home page: Mission and vision: We strive to provide companion and assistance dogs whose performance is unquestionably dependable. Our dogs are professionals that never disappoint