Therapy animals can help people calm down, deal with grief or feel joy.
While dogs and horses are perhaps the most common examples, there are other animals that can play that role.
Destiny is a therapy lamb.
Once a month she comes to CADES, Concord Adult Day Enrichment Services at Concord United Methodist Church.
It is a daytime social program packed with activities for those with memory impairment. One of those activities is visiting with therapy animals or comfort animals like Destiny.
Volunteer Louise Snodgrass started the pet therapy program with her own dog, Snuggles the puggle.
Snuggles was the first therapy dog there almost 10 years ago and now one of CADES Furry Sweeties visits every day.
"When we bring an animal in here to visit it just brightens the room up. Everyone starts to talk," Louise said.
Most of the animals' owners are church members and some are her friends.
"Betsy (Metheny) and I were nurses together for years. She contacted me about Destiny. She said she had a pet lamb and where could her lamb come to visit. I said, I have the place, CADES," Louise said.
Since her first visit in October, Betsy Metheny said Destiny has grown bigger even as she has grown into her role.
Destiny isn't the only non-canine therapy animal.
"The other day, it's always something, it was a pig. Ha! Now he shook me up a little," CADES participant Jerilyn Byrd said.
Next month, just in time for Easter, Louise has scheduled a therapy bunny.
"I always say it's all the way around, joy all the way around because the animals love it, the participants love it, the staff loves it, and I think more than anything I love it," she said.