Staff Sgt. Janice Shipman explains to Air Force Theater Hospital patients the purpose of the K-9 Visitation Program May 15 at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. The program works to further patient recovery after injury or illness through animal-assisted therapy. Sergeant Shipman is a 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group intensive care unit aerospace medical technician. She is deployed from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., and is a native of Phenix City, Ala. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Dilia Ayala)