Do you and your dog like meeting new people and do you like putting big smiles on their faces? Why not join us when we go to our local nursing homes? It is such a rewarding feeling watching our dogs interact with these residents. Sadly, some of these people don’t have regular visitors and so look forward to our visits. If you have a couple of hours free each month and think this is for you, we are always looking for more teams. It will be so rewarding for you and your dogs will just love it! Bonus, you get to earn hours for WDC!
A therapy dog is a dog trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, mental institutions, schools, and stressful situations, such as disaster areas. Therapy dogs come in all sizes and breeds. The most important characteristic of a therapy dog is its temperament. A good therapy dog must be friendly, patient, confident, at ease in all situations, and gentle. Therapy dogs must enjoy unfamiliar people making physical contact with them and be content to be petted and handled, sometimes clumsily. The dog might need to be lifted onto, or climb onto, an invalid’s lap or bed and sit or lie comfortably there. Many dogs contribute to the visiting experience by performing small tricks for their audiences or by playing carefully structured games.
Here are the prerequisites: (1) Must be an approved member; (2) Your dog must be at least one year old and have earned its Canine Good Citizen certificate; (3) Your dog must be evaluated and approved by Fawn Tauber; (4) One of the nursing homes requires the handler to have 3 Covid vaccinations, you must present your vaccination card for that particular nursing home.
If you are interested or have questions, please contact Barb Protogere-Sprangers ([email protected]) or Fawn Tauber ([email protected]). Check the WDC calendar for dates and times.
