Guest guest Posted March 8, 2004 Report Share Posted March 8, 2004 Hey y'all! Well, this is 1 of 3 questions I am posing today...bear with me, please?? >) I have a dog who is 10 years old. She is a Border Collie/Lab mix and essentially looks like a solid black Border Collie. Several of my family and friends have said that she has the perfect temperament for Pet Therapy like in Nursing Homes, etc. I was wondering if any of you had any experience with Pet Therapy and could give me any advice as to the logistics of it all....like special training, how to start, etc. To my knowledge, there is not a Pet Therapy program at ANY of the nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or anywhere else like that in my area and I'm thinking of starting it. My reasoning behind this is that my grandparents went to an Assisted-Living facility about 7 years ago and my grandmother was able to bring her seeing-eye dog. Well, when my grandmother went to the full-nursing care portion of the home, the dog stayed with my grandfather in Assisted-Living and basically had free-roam of the entire place. The people in the facility absolutely loved Ellen (the dog). They would even save treats for her when she visited them. Ellen was so smart that she knew who's rooms to go to! But she has become the resident dog...literally. She goes up and down the elevators on her own...goes into other buildings in the complex on her own...goes outside on her own...and in general goes visiting. My point here is that she was so loved by the staff and tenants that she was allowed all this freedom. I think Pet Therapy is a wonderful thing...I've seen it put light in people's eyes! I just don't know how to go about starting this. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks everbody and have a wonderful day! Kati Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2004 Report Share Posted March 8, 2004 Dear Kati, I have a American Pit Bull Terrier, she is a Therapy dog. We can got to hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, you name it, she is trained. We are now also certified to go into schools to teach children how to and not to approach dogs. Mine doesn't know she is surpose to be a mean dog. Just a big baby. She is big. As I just seen this, I was going to lay down, can't handle sitting up anymore right now. So I will save your letter and then you can either ask me more questions, or I can just try to remember more. The happiness it bring to people who have not much to look forward to, its heartwarming to see how much they love being visited by the dogs. Nancy I have a dog who is 10 years old. She is a Border Collie/Lab mix and essentially looks like a solid black Border Collie. Several of my family and friends have said that she has the perfect temperament for Pet Therapy like in Nursing Homes, etc. I was wondering if any of you had any experience with Pet Therapy and could give me any advice as to the logistics of it all....like special training, how to start, etc. To my knowledge, there is not a Pet Therapy program at ANY of the nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or anywhere else like that in my area and I'm thinking of starting it. My reasoning behind this is that my grandparents went to an Assisted-Living facility about 7 years ago and my grandmother was able to bring her seeing-eye dog. Well, when my grandmother went to the full-nursing care portion of the home, the dog stayed with my grandfather in Assisted-Living and basically had free-roam of the entire place. The people in the facility absolutely loved Ellen (the dog). They would even save treats for her when she visited them. Ellen was so smart that she knew who's rooms to go to! But she has become the resident dog...literally. She goes up and down the elevators on her own...goes into other buildings in the complex on her own...goes outside on her own...and in general goes visiting. My point here is that she was so loved by the staff and tenants that she was allowed all this freedom. I think Pet Therapy is a wonderful thing...I've seen it put light in people's eyes! I just don't know how to go about starting this. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks everbody and have a wonderful day! Kati Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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