Therapy Animals

Ward and I had an interesting day last Saturday. We were volunteers helping with the certification of therapy animals. In case you aren't familiar, therapy animals visit with patients in recovery, people with intellectual disabilities, seniors living with Alzheimer's, students, veterans with PTSD, and those approaching the end of life, improving health and well-being through the human-animal bond. We had never done anything like this before and had no idea what to expect.

The testing organization was Pet Partners, and they have very strict behaviors expected from the animals before they can work as a therapy animal. Pet Partners wants to ensure the animal and handler have the proper temperament and control for a successful visit. And perhaps, even more importantly, Pet Partners provides insurance to the handler and animal when they go into facilities. Most facilities require insurance before they will let animals visit. 

The handler and animal had to go through 11 different skills with increasing difficulty. If the animal failed a skill, the test was over, and the handler and animal were advised on how to improve. They were also encouraged to come back and retest on another test day.

The first two tests simulated a greeting that would be given when entering a facility, including petting the dog and walking behind it. Next, the animal was given a "wellness check," including checking its ears, teeth, paws, and tail. During another test, the tester brushed the dog.

Theo is a therapy dog and was also
one of the neutral dogs during testing.

Additional tests had the animal walk a set path by themselves and then take a walk that passed by another dog (called the neutral dog). The dogs also had to be able to sit and lay down on cue and stay in place when the owner moved away and get up only when called.

There were also distraction tests, and that's where we came in. There were four other volunteers besides us providing the distractions. We walked back and forth, simulating a busy hallway, including someone on crutches and someone with a walker. The walker was Ward's job, including being a grumpy old man during another test.  Another time there, we did a loud argument, and I was one of the arguers for that one. We also all crowded around the dog, with everyone petting at once. These tests were designed to see how well the dog handled the distractions and the handler handled the dog. 

The first dog was a whippet, Siren, that was there for recertification because the animals have to be recertified every two years. Siren and her handler passed with flying colors.

The second dog, Radar*, was a golden retriever and was also there for a recertification. Radar got a rocky start by jumping up to greet the tester. That's a big no-no. Since the handler had successfully already had over 150 visits to a hospital in the last year, the tester let the handler calm his dog and start over. Radar then passed all of the tests and was recertified. The handler later explained that when they visited the hospital, Radar had been trained to put his paws up on the side of the bed so the patient could pet him. That may have been part of the reason for his jump-up. 

The third dog, Eva, was a Great Pyrenees and was there to be certified for the first time. Eva would not lay down for the handler, so the testing stopped there. After many helpful suggestions, the testers encouraged Eva to test again. 

One thing that was evident in all of the teams was that they were very nervous. I guess test-taking anxiety shows up in all forms of testing. Photos were not allowed during the testing, and afterward, there was a lot of paperwork going on, resulting in me not getting photos of the dogs. 

Cosmo and Megan

Besides the three dogs, we also saw a rat, Cosmo, undergo the certification process. I'm not a big fan of rodents, but this rat was very cute. Cosmo's handler was not nervous and was fun to watch as they went through most of the same paces as a dog. Cosmo passed with flying colors. Everyone was taken with Cosmo, so he posed for pictures. 

Ward and I enjoyed the day. The animals were friendly, and I loved watching the bond with their owners. It's not going to happen, but I left there wanting to get a dog and train it to be a therapy dog. I guess I'll have to settle for visiting with my sisters' dogs and volunteering for the next certification trials.

Until next time...

*We couldn't remember the golden's name. Maybe it was Radar?