~ Interested in Therapy? ~
Are YOU now interested in therapy?
Requirements for doing therapy work will vary from city to county to state, and will be entirely dependent upon what type of therapy - and in what locations - you wish to do. Though the thinking has been slow to change, at the very least we are opening a new age wherein using dogs as therapists is becoming more and more recognized and adopted.
Many times, in order to visit a nursing or retirement home, nothing more than a well-behaved, sensitive dog, and a large heart, are required. Visit the home to introduce yourself, express your interests and wishes, and find out if they are open to the idea. Arrange to bring your Sheltie with you to meet the staff so they might make an informed decision about allowing you - or not - come by with your dog to visit the patients.
There are times, however, when your dog must have achieved a CGC (Canine Good Citizen) certification. Visit Canine Good Citizen for more information.
There may be other times, however, when your dog may have to be therapy certified. This can be done under at least these two different, most widely known, programs:
And then, in order to do work inside a hospital proper, much more is usually involved before approval for your visits is given. Locally, any dogs used for therapy within the hospital complex must be CGC certified; must pass a complete health examination and undergo worming and vaccinations, blood work and many other things before being deemed "clean" for entry into the hospital wards. These extensive health exams are repeated, I believe, bi-annually, and vaccinations must be re-administered. A check with your local hospital's Patient Advocacy Program or Health Affairs administrator should be where you can find more information on hospital therapy work. A great place to start therapy work in the hospital is the psychiatric and children's wards, but anyone in the hospital for any reason will benefit from a visit.
For more information
regarding therapy work with your, visit any of the links below, which hopefully
will help get you started:
Canine Companions For Independence
Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS)
Prison Pet Partnership Program
Therapy is not about
giving. Therapy is about receiving.