How to hire an animal assisted therapist

How to hire an animal assisted therapist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step animal assisted therapist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an animal assisted therapist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new animal assisted therapist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your animal assisted therapist job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find an animal assisted therapist for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them an animal assisted therapist to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire an animal assisted therapist that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of animal assisted therapist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Animal Assisted Therapist	Description	Hourly rate
   Animal Assisted Therapist	Physical therapist assistants, sometimes called PTAs, and physical therapist aides work under the direction and supervision of physical therapists. They help patients who are recovering from injuries and illnesses regain movement and manage pain.	$10-23
   Rehab Technician	A rehab technician's role is to assist physical therapists and patients in a hospital or similar facility. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around gathering a patient's personal information and medical history, escorting them to corresponding rooms, and conducting initial tests and assessments... Show more	$10-17
   Rehabilitation Aide	A rehabilitation aide is responsible for assisting patients with injuries, mental disorders, and illnesses in their treatment plans and medications. Rehabilitation aides monitor the patients' progress and update attending physicians regarding their conditions... Show more	$10-16

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • PET
   • Patient Care
   • Physical Therapy
   • Behavioral Issues
   • Animal Handling
   • Group Therapy
   • Therapy Sessions
   • Animal Rooms
   • General Care
   • Ultrasound
   • Speech Therapy
   • Therapy Programs
   • Discharge Planning

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead aftercare/community resource groups to provide education and awareness to patients regarding post-discharge follow up.
   • Administer traction to relieve neck or back pain, using intermittent and static traction equipment.
   • Operate electrical muscle stimulation machinery, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and the neck traction machine.
   • Observe physical therapist while providing comprehensive education, caregiver training for family members of patients prior to discharge to ensure safety.
   • Aid with patient's exercises, perform ultrasound, IFC, cold and heat treatments.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your animal assisted therapist job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An animal assisted therapist can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, animal assisted therapists' average salary in alabama is 24% less than in west virginia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level animal assisted therapists 55% less than senior-level animal assisted therapists.
   • Certifications. An animal assisted therapist with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in an animal assisted therapist's salary.

   Average animal assisted therapist salary

   $16.19hourly

   $33,672 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level animal assisted therapist salary

   $22,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

4. Writing an animal assisted therapist job description

   A job description for an animal assisted therapist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an animal assisted therapist job description:

   Animal assisted therapist job description example

   The Opportunity
   
   The Animation Series Post Production team, which includes Adult Animation post production, Kids and Family post production, and Post Services, seeks a Post Production Assistant to join us as we produce some of the best and award winning animated series that's available to stream. This position will report directly to the co-heads of Animation Series Post Production.
   
   The Role
   
   A successful candidate will be self-motivated, proactive, quick-thinking, flexible, able to pivot when necessary, thorough and able to juggle multiple and diverse responsibilities with a strong emphasis on organization and an unwavering attention to detail at all times. This is a demanding and fast moving position that requires someone who can work independently and is a positive thinker, and able to exercise good judgment and communication.
   
   Animation Series Responsibilities
   
   + Agenda Management and Note Taking at all combined team meetings
   
   + Scheduling for internal Animation Series post production meetings
   
   + Work closely with cross functional partners to support post department needs and requests
   
   + Team file management in Google Drive
   
   + Initiate drive-ons and book department travel for Offsites and Team Building exercises
   
   + Maintain PIX distribution templates and schedule PIX onboarding for Netflix New Hires
   
   + Track show assignments and organization charts
   
   + Crew Offboarding from all applications after wrap/delivery
   
   + Maintain team birthday list and coordinate team events
   
   + Assist post coordinators with data entry
   
   + Expense Report creation for Directors only
   
   Post Services Responsibilities
   
   + Schedule Engineers for production reviews
   
   + Schedule collaborative review space training with productions
   
   + Act as a scheduling escalation point for the automated booking system
   
   + On-site point of contact for productions
   
   + Run ticket reports for metrics tracking
   
   Qualifications
   
   + 2+ Years as an assistant or coordinator in Post Production or Production
   
   + Experience in Project Management, Studio Operations, or Studio Support
   
   + Strong interest in production and post technology
   
   + Ability to handle a fast paced environment assisting on several projects in various points of production
   
   + Proficiency in the Google Tool Suite and PIX
   
   + Understanding of how to prioritize and respond accordingly
   
   + Discretion in maintaining confidential information
   
   + Strong written and verbal communication skills
   
   + Willingness to continue learning to ensure understanding of post production and production technology

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right animal assisted therapist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with animal assisted therapists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit animal assisted therapists who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   To find animal assisted therapist candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit animal assisted therapists, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new animal assisted therapist

   Once you have selected a candidate for the animal assisted therapist position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new animal assisted therapist first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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