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Animal-Assisted and Dog Therapy Providers in India: City-Wise List

Rasika Karkare Rasika Karkare (Counseling Psychologist) | May 22, 2026
Clinically Reviewed Evidence Based
1779474400

    Animal-assisted therapy (AAT), also known as dog therapy or pet therapy, is a form of psychotherapeutic treatment that believes in the power of the human-animal connection and utilizes this connection to facilitate healing and change. In AAT, animals are specifically trained and integrated into treatment to improve physical, emotional and cognitive functions among clients. Like any other form of therapy, AAT is also goal-directed and can be used in the treatment of various issues such as stress, anxiety, depression, etc.

    Dogs and horses are the most commonly used animals in Animal Assisted Therapy, but other animals, such as cats and even birds, can also be trained to provide therapeutic benefits. In one of our previous articles on this blog, we explored how pets can be beneficial for the mental and physical health of people. In this article, we'll explore a city-wise list of animal-assisted and dog therapy providers in India.

    Are Dogs Good For Your Mental Health?

    Research suggests that interacting with animals, such as dogs, can be helpful not only in therapy but also outside of therapy-related situations. Let's look at some benefits of interacting with dogs.

    • Dogs can offer unconditional support, which can help reduce feelings of loneliness. They also increase the levels of dopamine and oxytocin, leading to increased feelings of happiness. A study conducted in 2021 during the pandemic found that people with pets experienced higher levels of well-being.

    • Playing with dogs can reduce anxiety and stress.

    • Playing with dogs can be a good form of physical exercise, leading to better physical health.

    • A 2022 study also found that pet owners or dog owners were less likely to feel depressed as compared to people who had no pets.

    Thus, there is enough evidence to suggest that interacting with dogs can have multiple physical and mental health benefits and can be made a part of therapeutic interventions.

    Dog Therapy Providers In Delhi

    As dog therapy is a relatively new approach, there are only a few places providing dog therapy services in Delhi. They are:

    Last Journey

    The Last Journey is an organization based in New Delhi that provides funeral services. However, they also provide counselling and dog therapy services to help people overcome the grief of losing a loved one or any other form of stress that they might be experiencing in their life.

    What makes their dog therapy services unique is that they can send therapy dogs directly to your home or any other location, such as schools, hospitals, old age homes, etc. Additionally, they have multiple breeds of dogs from which you can choose a therapy dog based on your comfort. Their therapy dogs come with trained dog handlers as well.

    Link: https://www.lastjourney.in/dog-therapy-services/

    Kutumb Rehab

    Kutumb Rehab is a de-addiction centre located in Delhi, NCR. They provide counselling and therapy services for substance abuse and addictions, alongside family counselling and counselling for anxiety and depression. As a part of their rehabilitation program, they also provide animal-assisted therapy with the help of dogs. They believe that friendly dogs provide comfort to clients, aiding the recovery process.

    Link: https://www.kutumbrehab.com/animal-therapy

    Fur Ball Story

    The Fur Ball Story is an organization that aims to make pet ownership fun and hassle-free for pet owners. They provide various services, such as pet boarding, pet training, and pet and dog therapy, along with pet medicines and supplements.

    They currently provide dog therapy services in the Delhi NCR region for homes, corporations, schools, NGOs, and other similar organizations. Each of their therapy dogs is trained and accompanied by experienced dog handlers, with a session lasting about 2 hours, while a corporate dog therapy session lasts around 4 hours.

    Link: https://furballstory.com/pages/dog-therapy-fur-ball-story

    Dog-Friendly Cafes In Delhi

    While there are only a few centres providing dog therapy, you can always visit dog-friendly cafes and places to interact with your furry friends. As discussed earlier, playing or interacting with dogs outside of therapy settings may not be as beneficial as therapy, but it has its benefits. Let's look at a few dog-friendly cafes in Delhi.

    Diggin Cafe

    Located in New Delhi, the Diggin Cafe offers a variety of snacks, along with a dose of cute interactions with their pet dogs. You can also interact with the dogs of other pet owners.

    Link: https://www.instagram.com/diggincafe/?hl=en

    Cafe Dori

    Cafe Dori located in Vasant Vihar, is another pet-friendly cafe where you can interact with dogs and other pets.

    Link: https://www.nappadori.com/pages/cafe-dori

    Dog Therapy Providers In Mumbai

    Animal Angels Foundation

    Animal Angels Foundation is India's largest registered non-profit organization focused on Human-Animal Interaction and Animal Assisted Interventions. They have an extensive team of trained therapy dogs, pet parents, volunteers, and mental health professionals who have been providing programs based on human-animal interaction for the past 14 years. While they primarily operate their physical centre in Pune, they provide dog therapy in partnership with various hospitals and schools in Mumbai.

    The Animal Angels Foundation currently provides dog therapy services in at least 10 different special schools in Thane, Sion, Vile-Parle, Andheri and other areas of Mumbai. Apart from schools, they also provide dog therapy sessions at Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai. All the therapy sessions that they provide are facilitated by a trained therapist along with trained dogs.

    Website Link: https://animalangels.org.in/

    Pawkies Mumbai

    Pawkies is primarily a dog daycare and boarding place where people can not only find the best care for their dogs but also enjoy therapy sessions and cuddle time with them. Currently, Pawkies has 3 trained therapy dogs, as mentioned on their website. Each of their therapy sessions lasts for 2 hours and can be a great way to relieve stress, improve blood circulation and leave you in a positive mood. They currently provide their services primarily to schools and corporations only on a prior appointment basis. They have their centre in Borivali West.

    Website Link: https://www.pawkies.in/

    Manav Foundation

    Manav Foundation is a rehabilitation centre in Mumbai that focuses on helping people with mental illnesses. They offer animal-assisted therapy sessions with the help of dogs. These sessions are facilitated in collaboration with the Animal Angels Foundation mentioned above. The goal of these sessions is to create a safe and non-judgmental environment for people by using therapy dogs with the eventual aim of improving their cognitive functioning, contributing to their recovery.

    Link: https://www.manavfoundation.org.in/

    Pawfect Life, Andheri East

    Like Pawkies, Pawfect Life is a pet boarding and petting centre in Andheri. They allow people to spend time with dogs at their centre and conduct corporate dog therapy sessions as well.

    Instagram Link: https://www.instagram.com/pawfect_life_mumbai/tagged/?hl=en

    Dog Therapy Providers In Pune

    As dog therapy is a relatively new approach, only one centre provides dog therapy services in Pune. Let's look at the same.

    Animal Angels Foundation

    The Animal Angels Foundation is an NGO providing dog therapy services across multiple cities in India, including Pune. They have designed human-animal interactive therapy activities with the help of trained therapy dogs over the last 14 years.

    They have started their first physical animal-assisted therapy centre in Pune. It is a 'one of its kind' centre providing training and intervention programs focused on human-animal interactions. They also provide various kinds of therapies in their centre, such as:

    • Animal-assisted interventions for adults and children focused on improving socialization, communication, anxiety and autism.
    • Counselling sessions with dogs alongside a trained therapist
    • Play therapy activities with dogs for children
    • Mindfulness activities and relaxation with dogs and other animals
    • Animal-Assisted reading/drama and movement activities for children.

    Their vast experience coupled with various dog-therapy interventions and options makes Animal Angels Foundation an effective choice for dog therapy.

    Link: https://animalangels.org.in/

    Dog-Friendly Cafes In Pune

    While only one centre provides dog therapy, you can always visit dog-friendly cafes and places to interact with your furry friends. Let's look at a few dog-friendly cafes in Pune.

    The Fat Labrador Cafe

    The Fat Labrador cafe is a small eatery located in the Bavdhan. There you may find a lot of pet parents coming with their dogs and the cafe owners have a dog of their own as well, giving you the perfect opportunity to enjoy a meal with some furry companions.

    Link: https://thefatlabrador.com/

    The Flour Works

    The Flour Works is a dog-friendly cafe located in Kalyani Nagar. The cafe is also known for it's menu and ambience. Don't be surprised if you encounter some furry friends when you visit there.

    Link: https://www.instagram.com/theflourworks/?hl=en

    Where Else Cafe

    Located in Viman Nagar, the Where Else Cafe is one of the most highly rated pet-friendly cafes where you can interact and play with the dogs of other pet parents, making it an ideal choice for dog lovers.

    Link: https://www.instagram.com/whereelsepune/?hl=en

    Dog Therapy Providers In Kolkata

    As Dog Therapy is a developing school of thought in India, there is only one centre that offers Dog therapy in Kolkata. Let's look at the same.

    Indian Mother And Child Care, West Bengal

    Indian Mother and Child Care is a Non-Governmental organization that primarily works to provide support to children and adults with special needs. They work in the areas of assessment, diagnosis, therapeutic support and inclusive education for children and adults with special needs. They also have a residential school for children and adolescents with various behavioural problems and multiple disabilities, such as Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD or cerebral palsy.

    As a part of therapeutic interventions, the NGO provides children with animal-assisted therapy with the help of dogs. They believe that animals such as dogs provide young children with an opportunity to connect with another living being, while also aiding physical therapy, motivation and confidence in children. Therapy sessions involving dogs seem to be enjoyable and more pleasurable, as well as leading to productive outcomes.

    Link: https://motherandchildschool.com/about-us.html

    Dog-Friendly Cafes In Kolkata

    While there are limited dog therapy providers in Kolkata, you can always visit dog-friendly cafes and places to interact with your furry friends. Let's look at a few dog-friendly cafes in Kolkata.

    The Backyard

    The Backyard is a pet-friendly cafe located in the Topsia region of Kolkata. This place has a dedicated pet lawn where both kids and adults can play with dogs and cats.

    Link: https://www.instagram.com/thebackyardkolkata/?hl=en

    Hugo And Finn

    Hugo and Finn is a pet-friendly cafe located at Camac Street Area in Kolkata. This is a place where you can meet and interact with the dogs of other pet parents.

    Link: https://www.instagram.com/hugo_and_finn/?hl=en

    Animal-Assisted Therapy Providers In Other Cities

    Qi To Happiness, Ahmedabad

    The Qi To Happiness Foundation is a unique initiative that advocates for the compassionate treatment of both humans and animals through education and sustainable interventions. They run a unique initiative called 'The Essential Supportive Interventions Program' that aims at using animal-assisted therapy as one of the modalities to treat and help children with disabilities. Additionally, they also have a 'Comfort Dog Programme' wherein people of any age can come and visit their trained therapy dogs. Spending time with these therapy dogs can help people overcome emotions such as stress and anxiety.

    Link: https://qitohappiness.org/

    Wag-Ville, Bangalore

    Wag Ville is primarily a daycare centre for dogs in Bangalore, but they offer unique animal-assisted therapy called 'Equine Assisted Therapy'. Equine Assisted Therapy involves the use of horseback riding for therapeutic purposes. In this therapy model, a trained therapist works with a horse expert to plan goal-directed therapeutic activities. These therapeutic activities are monitored and changed from time to time depending on the progress of clients. Therapeutic horse riding can bring several benefits, such as increased confidence, improved social skills, etc. Other activities, such as grooming a horse, can also help with cognition and memory.

    Link: https://www.wag-ville.com/

    Disclaimer

    It is important to note that the above information is based on our research, and we do not have any association or personal experience with the above-mentioned organizations and places. Thus, it is advisable to conduct your own research before visiting any place or organisation.

    Interested in learning more about pets and mental health? Click here to read our article about the mental health benefits of having a pet.

    References

    Rasika Karkare

    I am a certified therapist and have an experience of working with various psychological vulnerabilities for more than 4.5 years. I have been working with adults in the age range 18-40 years who present a wide range of emotional/mental health concerns. In my practice, I strictly adhere to therapies based on scientific evidence and value ethical guidelines provided by APA (American Psychological Association).

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