Abstract Background Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI) is defined as a goal-directed intervention designed to promote improvement in social, emotional, physical and cognitive functioning (AAII 2020). AAIs are a growing area in dementia research and practice (Lai et al. 2019). There is a significant gap in implementing and researching AAI in a UK context (Fine 2019). Caring for pets and service animals is considered an instrumental activity of daily living (AOTA 2008) and AAI has been shown to enhance the occupational participation of other client populations (Winkle et al. 2012; Herlache-Pretzer et al. 2017; Andreasen et al. 2017). It is unclear what impact AAI has on the occupational participation of people living with dementia (PLWD). Methods Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was proposed to facilitate deep level interpretations of the experience of occupational participation for PLWD who have an assistance dog. Over a two-month period, the researcher proposed to complete four thirty-minute video observations capturing PLWD participating in a chosen occupation in their home environment. The researcher further proposed to maintain a reflexive journal and document notable observations throughout the research process to enhance the development of themes. Results PLWD have the right to access personally meaningful occupations (WFOT 2006). Assistance dogs may have the potential to facilitate positive occupational experiences such as occupational identity, occupational competence and occupational adaptation. Conclusion Occupational therapists who claim to be guided by the principals of client-centred practice (RCOT 2015a) must strive to look beyond traditional interventions to effectively meet the individual needs and preferences of PLWD (Brodrick and Barry 2016). Education and further research (Fine 2019) are required to raise the profile of AAI in a UK context. Future research would benefit from exploring the experience of occupational participation in social environmental contexts for PLWD (who have an assistance dog), to gain whole experiential accounts of this phenomenon.