Guess who has passed all his tests/prerequisites and is now a certified therapy dog?
EDITED TO ADD: a real therapy dog (as opposed to one who has been kitted out with a $24.99 vest and certificate that the owner bought off the Internet) has to provide to one of the AKC-recognized national therapy dog associations, a signed veterinary health form, pass an obedience test that includes - in addition to heel, sit, stay etc - someone zipping past him in a wheelchair and dropping a massive bunch of metal keys on the ground next to him to see if he will flinch, and undergo no fewer than 3 observed visits conducted by an evaluator who works for the national group.
The handler (moi) has to pass a background check and an oral exam. The Little Man and I in addition took an 8-week course that is offered at the county kennel club by the local ATD-affiliated organization. With this certification comes insurance as part of our annual membership fee.
There are currently in the United States no legal standards or qualifications that must be met by therapy dogs, so our clients prefer to deal with us because they know that we are the real deal.
6 comments:
CONGRATS!!!!! Now where shall you take him?
Well done!!
Congratulations to you all!
He will be at a student event at the university on 11/10, and next week - depending on what the librarian tells me - he will begin work as a reading therapy dog at the public library.
There's enough demand that he can work 1-2 days each week but I'm going to go easy in the beginning to see how he adapts. He has been on some practice/evaluation visits (a senior center, the Red Cross event, a nursing home) and did well although he does seem to lose interest after the first hour and want to go home.
Reading therapy dogs just lie there and have a kid pet them and read to them at the same time, which should be right up his lazy-ass alley.
Congratulations to you both. What a Good Boy.
Congrats! Therapy dogs can do such good works.
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