A single visit from a certified therapy dog team can have powerful results. Your visit can bring a smile to the face of a distraught patient in a psychiatric facility. It can elicit memories in a person afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. It can offer the companionship to a nursing home resident she once enjoyed from her own beloved dog she had to relinquish to a shelter when entering the home. It can help a young child build self-esteem and find success in school. Therapy dogs can do amazing things for the people whose lives they touch.
What a gift it is to become a certified therapy dog team and make visits that touch the lives of people in need. Over the past twenty-four years, seven of my dogs have been therapy dogs and together we have made over 30,000 visits to people of all ages in hospitals, nursing homes, Alzheimer’s units, hospice care, and schools. I have never left a visit without feeling that my dog has made at least one person feel happier, less lonely, and comforted. The high I receive from a single visit has been addictive. I simply can’t stop.
In founding Bright Spot Therapy Dogs in 2004, my hope has been to make people aware of the meaningful impact therapy dogs have on the lives of those they visit and involve more and more people in this work. It’s such a win-win endeavor for all involved-the person receiving the visit, the person making the visit, and-wow-the dog absolutely LOVES his job! It couldn’t get any better than that!
If you like to volunteer in your community and have a well trained, friendly, outgoing dog who brings you great enjoyment, why not consider becoming involved with work that can be so rewarding. Witness for yourself the power of the human-canine bond at work. To learn all about becoming certified, visit our website and sign-up to take our next Therapy Dog Team Training Class starting on May 22nd.