Our second Therapy Dog Training Class of 2014, once again, ran at full capacity. Our next class, scheduled for March 30th & April 13th is filling rapidly. More and more people are interested in becoming involved with this rewarding volunteer activity. Our Therapy Dog Training Class is a required step in becoming certified through Bright Spot Therapy Dogs.
It has now been scientifically proven that human-canine interaction is, in fact, therapeutic, and with these findings has come a demand for Therapy Dogs in a myriad of settings. Therapy Dogs are now found on college campuses across the country to offer stress-relief during exam periods. Therapy Dogs are paired with children as their reading buddies to help young readers build confidence in a non-judgmental, non-threatening atmosphere. Therapy Dogs are being called to the scene of a disaster to provide comfort and caring. Possibilities for employing the services of a Therapy Dog Team are pretty much endless as people realize more and more the power of the human-canine bond.
People seeking Bright Spot Therapy Dog Team certification are taking this work seriously these days. Our trained volunteers may be planning to take their dog into their workplace, as does one of our volunteers, a middle school assistant principal, who takes her Bright Spot Therapy Dog to school with her three times a week to work with students one-on-one or in small-group settings. We have physicians who take their certified Therapy Dog to their office to interact with patients in the waiting room; others are volunteering as a Bright Spot Therapy Dog Team in one of our many health care and educational settings that have requested a visiting Therapy Dog Team. Dogs and people doing this important and meaningful work must be skilled in the techniques needed to make successful visits. Our Therapy Dog Training Classes are designed to provide these tools.
If interest in becoming a certified Bright Spot Therapy Dog Team, please visit our website for details. A word to the wise: Sign up asap for classes. They always FILL.