Katy Kleinschmidt says Coping Together’s animal assisted therapy not only helped her son Jack form deep relationships with his favorite animals, but improved his ability to connect with people as well.

Jack, who has autism and struggles to communicate, started working with Shelley Skas, founder and president of the animal-assisted therapy nonprofit, about three years ago after struggling to recover from the isolation brought by COVID-19 lockdowns, Kleinschmidt said.

“I was pretty desperate,” Kleinschmidt said. “His behavior just got more, I don’t want to say aggressive, but just more regular.”

At first, Jack was working individually with Skas. But one day, Kleinschmidt said, Skas asked the two of them to tour her ranch on Steger Road in Frankfort.

“She put him to work right away,” Klei

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