Therapy Dogs & Facility Dogs
Bring joy and ease emotional distress at your facilityDo you have a friendly, affectionate dog? Do you want to share your dog’s love with others? You might want to become a volunteer therapy dog team! Our therapy dog teams volunteer their time visiting places like schools, hospitals, assisted living facilities, and hospice care to bring joy and alleviate stress.
What is a Therapy Dog?
A Therapy Dog is a pet dog with a naturally friendly temperament who genuinely craves human attention and affection. These dogs have naturally steady nerves, handle stress well, and get along with all humans and are friendly, or at least neutral, to most other animals. A therapy dog team is a dog/owner pairing who receive both extensive obedience training and skills to interact safely and professionally in a facility visitation setting.
What is a Facililty Dog?
School faculty members, counselors, therapists, or other professionals: if you’re on this page, you may be considering integrating a therapy dog into your school or other environment to reduce stress and improve the mental health of your students, coworkers, or clients. Fantastic!
A Facility Dog is typically a dog utilized in one of the scenarios listed above on a more permanent or full-time basis. If you fit the above descriptions and have a dog you are interested in training or are interested in acquiring a dog with this end goal in mind, get in touch! We’d love to help design a program for you.
What does it take for a dog to be a therapy dog?
A therapy dog is a pet who genuinely seeks out and wants human and attention and affection; their joy in interacting with humans has a positive impact on those with whom they interact. These dogs must also be safe and bomb-proof in multiple environments; a dog who is aggressive or fearful or even shy towards people will not have the stress-relieving effect most people are hoping to achieve. Further, a dog who does not have impeccable manners in public/around people is a potential safety risk in school or other environments. To be certified as a therapy dog through our program, the following requirements must be met:
- Dogs must be at least 1 year old, and handlers must be at least 18 years old
- Dogs must be spayed or neutered and in good health
- Dogs must pass a Temperament Assessment administered by a WRCP trainer
- Dogs must pass the AKC Canine Good Citizen Test
- Dogs must pass our Therapy Dog Certification Exam
Become A Certified Therapy Dog Team
Sign up either via private lessons or through group classes to complete our Therapy Dog curriculum and certification exam!
Add A Facility Dog To Your Workplace
Whether you work at a school, hospital, assisted living facility or have your own private practice, we can work with you to train your dog to meet your exact needs to work on a more permanent basis at your facility.
Request A Visit At Your Facility!
Does your facility want to have therapy dogs visit? Our volunteer teams are always looking for new opportunities and would love to visit you!