Next Meeting: To be determined, as soon as we can safely gather together again.

Anyone who is interested is welcome to attend.

Do you have a dog, cat, rabbit, pony, bird or goldfish with a loving personality?

Does your heart yearn to comfort people who are hurting?

Then you and your pet are great candidates to be a therapy pet team! You are needed!

Explore our website and email questions to comfortcreaturesNEMS@gmail.com

Mission: Our human and pet teams work to bring joy and comfort to people, especially those who are experiencing hard times. We visit nursing homes, hospitals, shelters, and similar facilities.

People: We are self-directed volunteers who work for one mission. Anyone who loves to share the love shown by Christ is welcome. You do not need to have a therapy pet to be a member of CCNEMS. We welcome anyone who supports therapy pet work. 

Pets: Therapy or comfort pets have special personalities. They enjoy meeting all types of people and are not upset easily. They are kind and loving animals and can be any breed of dog or cat. We will consider other animals that have credentialed training and evaluation. These are our own personal pets.

Organization: Comfort Creatures of Northeast Mississippi pet therapy teams are all registered with national therapy pet organizations. We support animal related groups in our area. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

How We Began: A grassroots effort, Comfort Creatures was launched in 2005 by professional counselor, Lisa Abstein and her sweet Golden Retriever, Larkin. Lisa posted flyers all around Tupelo, Mississippi. By the grace of God, Comfort Creatures grew to over 23 volunteers and 10+ sites  and a R.E.A.D program. Much to her disappointment, Lisa had to leave Comfort Creatures in 2009 due to personal burdens and Larkin’s arthritis/ aging. Sadly, aging, illnesses, and circumstances took many of our volunteers over the years (see Retired Teams and Rainbow Bridge)... both human and canine. With the efforts of Tricia Goldman and others, Comfort Creatures limped along but held on. Now we are a non-profit organization that supports local dog activities. We are always recruiting new members including people interested in having their dog certified, support members who do not have a therapy pet, and any registered therapy dog teams.

By the way, Lisa has a new therapy dog, Holly. Holly’s progress from pup to therapy dog can be seen on our page on Training Puppy for Therapy Work. Larkin would be proud.