Book excerpt: "This text will provide invaluable insights into a unique and beneficial intervention following crises and disasters: animal-assisted crisis response (AACR). A recent national study has shown that almost 25 percent of social workers are using animals in their practice. Many lack formal training in animal-assisted intervention, yet they are providing support and intervention following crises and disasters. The purpose of this book is to provide foundational knowledge of AACR and offer valuable, practical applications for various populations and types of crises. Goals of this text include (a) providing best practices and standards for AACR, (b) identifying handler and canine stress and management, (c) offering crisis intervention strategies for AACR with various groups and settings, (d) describing challenges of AACR with natural and human-made crises, and (e) providing lessons learned from AACR responses to several disasters, as crisis cases"--