SOUL: Sharing Of Unconditional Love...it's what our special therapy animals do best!
As Barrington's premier and comprehensive animal therapy program, our all-volunteer program includes a total of 53 volunteers, 35 of whom are registered Pet Partners' teams (the national gold-standard for therapy animals), for a total of 87 registered therapy teams!
What differentiates our organization from others is our experience and our commitment to animal therapy standards of excellence. Our therapy animals have to pass extensive testing with our handlers. Our registered therapy dogs started visiting in 2010, and our registered miniature therapy horses have been visiting the Barrington area since 2013. We also have mini donkeys! Our experience and alliance with the national therapy animal organization Pet Partners ensures our handlers and animals are tested every 2 years = Advocacy, Competency, SAFETY!
The Barrington Area Community Foundation chose the SOUL Harbour Ranch Animal Therapy Program as the 2019 "Best Use of Volunteers" nonprofit. SOUL teams registered as Pet Partners AACR (Animal Assisted Crisis Response) therapy teams in the Barrington area can be deployed in case of crisis (and even nationally) to assist with comfort and psychological first-aid.
Our mini therapy horse Mystery was recently inducted in the Horse Hall of Fame as she received a national Honor & Service award through the Washington International Horse Show and the Equus Foundation.
If you want to know more about who we are, check out the WGN, Chicago Today, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Daily Herald, Barrington's Quintessential Magazine and Barrington's Country Magazine, and other media clips on our website at www.soulharbourranch.com, as our programs and therapy teams have been highlighted!
The “SOUL team” volunteers partner with many Barrington-area and nearby community nonprofits for visits with our therapy animals, including Barrington Youth & Family Services, BStrong Together, GiGi's Playhouse, BACOA, the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association, WINGS, Journeycare and more. We also partner with Barrington-area businesses and shopping centers for visits at The Garlands, Alden Estates of Barrington, Sunrise, Lake Barrington Woods, Lake Barrington Shores, the Arboretum of S. Barrington and Deer Park Town Mall. We also offer on-site visits at SOUL Harbour Ranch since our NEW BARN was just completed in November 2019 and the build-out, including the bathroom, was completed in 2020.
Please check out our website www.soulharbourranch.com for a listing of programs, which includes the SOUL Buddies Animal Therapy Club. We mentor Barrington High School students to become registered handlers and visit in our community. We also offer the SOUL Veterans (thanks to a grant from the Barrington Area Community Foundation), SOUL Scouts (helping scouts earn badges), Young at SOUL (senior visits), Just Say WHOA to Bullying (WHOA: We Help One Another), Virtual SOUL Visits (we even partner with AARP Illinois!), Good 4 the SOUL (yoga, painting, etc) and SOUL Ranch Retreats held onsite at SOUL Harbour Ranch.
People often ask, “What is a visit and what do therapy animals do?” Our founder Jodie Diegel's reply: “At every visit , when others meet our special animals, there is joy, laughter, smiles and sharing of unconditional love…that is true healing.”
Volunteer needs include the following; volunteers with well-mannered animals whom we can help become registered Pet Partners therapy teams and join us; volunteers with fund-raising and grant experience who can help us be sustainable; volunteers who can help out with chores around the Ranch.
