In AAI, cats can be less confronting than dogs (for people who are scared of dogs). Their soft fur and purr brings a deep sense of calmness and happiness to humans

Dr. Christine Olsen has a master degree in ethology, and a PhD in public health focusing on animal-assisted interventions and animal welfare. She has previously worked several years as the “feline technique” for Royal Canin in Norway. Dr. Olsen has published several peer-reviewed papers, which are frequently cited. She gives lectures about cat behaviour, like for veterinarians and animal protection organisations. Dr. Olsen was group leader of the IAHAIO Task force for small animals in visiting programs where cats where included. Dr. Olsen has evaluated cat behaviour since 1997, and was the initiator of PADA Cats. Her own cat, Ozzie, is a certified AAI Cat.

Hello, I am Tahira and live in The Netherlands. I started my PADA path in 2021 as Technician and Leader for the PADA Dog test and currently I am finishing my education to become a PADA Dog Evaluator as well. Being on the field of AAI since 2017 I've seen how important it is to have suitable animals to realise their jobs. Thanks to PADA I also learned that more important than suitability, an animal should enjoy what it is doing, and PADA allows owners and professionals to see that by observing spontaneous and natural behavior. For this reason I also had one of my cats (Shani) tested with the PADA Cat test, and he is now a certified AAI cat. Which led me into wanting to contribute even further to the screening of AAI cats and into becoming a PADA Cat Evaluator.

Hello I am Suzan. Born on the Island Texel in the Netherlands. In 2022 I became a PADA Dog evaluator. And in 2023 there starts a new adventure. Becoming a PADA cat evaluator. Since I was born I was surrounded by cats. I followed studies on cat behavior. Now we have three cats at home. And one of them is a certified PADA therapy cat, after taking the cat PADA test with good result. With him, we go to elderly people, with dementia, who can cuddle him. He can also just lay beside them. Its so Nice to do this with him. The happy faces of the people, the contact the cat makes with them. The wonderful stories that they remember about their own animals. I am So grateful we can test cats, to increase animal welfare, and hope more people can enjoy the healing power of animals!

Fumi is the founder and director of the award-winning volunteer organization, Ichinomiya Animal Assisted Education Dog Club located in Aichi, Japan. She serves as a lecturer of Animal Assisted Education, Dog Training for Animal Assisted Interventions, Do as I Do Dog Training and Do as I Do Cat Training for several international educational institutions. Fumi and her club members are working together to become the first certified PADA team in Japan! Published in 2020, Fumi and her beloved cat, “Ebisu”, participated in Dr. Claudia Fugazza’s social learning research on cats and Do as I Do. The innovative study provided the first evidence of a cat’s ability to imitate human action. ”Did we find a copycat? Do as I Do in a domestic cat (Felis catus). Implementing social learning ability into the training of dogs and cats, especially their ability to learn from humans, and extending to others the benefits of the social learning approach in the field of Animal Assisted Interventions are crucial to Fumi's philosophy of teaching and learning.