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ARE YOU READY?
Have you ever wondered about whether you and your dog would
make a good Pet Therapy Team? Well, it's easy enough
to find out, just keep reading.
First, it’s important to remember that you and your dog are
a team and both of you have to be excited about going
out on visits for a few hours every month. Therapy visits
are fun, you and your dog get to interact with a lot of
different people and you really make a difference in
someone’s life. People look forward to seeing your dog from
one visit to the next so it is important that you are
committed to maintaining the visiting schedule. If you can
consistently commit to a few hours a month, you have cleared
the first hurdle. |
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IS YOUR DOG READY?
 Now that we know you’re ready, does your dog have what
it takes to be a therapy dog? Well, we all know Golden
Retrievers love people and love attention from everyone
so that’s an excellent start! Next, therapy dogs have
to be trained well enough to be predictable and under
your control at all times when on a visit. That doesn’t
mean they have to be able to win an obedience trial, but
there are some basic skills they need to demonstrate.
These skills are in the areas of Obedience and
Aptitude. More about these later. |
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WHY SHOULD WE BECOME A
REGISTERED PET THERAPY TEAM?
Most facilities require that pet therapy teams be
registered with a nationally recognized organization
before allowing any visits. There are several of these
organizations, however the 3 most popular are Delta
Society, Therapy Dog International and Therapy Dog
Incorporated. While most organizations use similar
assessment criteria, each has their own specific
requirements, evaluation process and insurance
coverage. It is important to
know that certain
facilities may only recognize a specific organization.
If you have decided on a facility that you would like to
visit, be sure to check with them to make sure that you
are evaluated and registered with the appropriate
organization.
Lucy,
Maggie, Molly and Kayli
The AZGRC Golden Pumpkin Patch visited
Phoenix Children's Hospital on Halloween.
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Therapy
Dog Kaylie
Helping Patient
One of the most important benefits of being a registered
pet therapy team is the insurance that is provided by
the organization. Typically, there is at least
$1,000,000.00 of coverage should there be a problem on
one of your visits. Even though there are facilities
that will allow you to visit without being a registered
therapy team, you personally bear the full financial
responsibility of anything that might happen on one of
your visits.
More importantly, becoming a registered therapy team
provides you with the additional support and information
to make your visits fun and rewarding for the group you
visit, your dog and yourself.
The contact information for each of these organizations
is listed below.
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