Have you been thinking of taking therapy dog training with your sweet, gentle, outgoing dog? Or, know a friend who is interested? If so, now is the time. With the increase in demand from both facilities requesting therapy dog visits and people wanting to become involved in this meaningful work by sharing their own dog that has been trained and certified as a therapy dog, Bright Spot is answering the call for more training opportunities to certify dogs – and their handlers – as visiting Therapy Dog Teams.
We started 2015 by holding our therapy dog training course in our popular Northampton, MA location at Animal Alliances on Damon Road. We limit this class to 8 participating teams, due to the size of the facility, and it always fills quickly. This course, running January 18th and February 1st, was no exception. People were eager to start the new year off by working toward therapy dog certification.
Many folks travel long distances to receive therapy dog training and certification through Bright Spot. To help ease the miles traveled by our participants, we have added a course location at the Melican Middle School in Northborough, MA, which is pretty much in the middle of the state, making it easier for those coming from the Boston Area, The Cape, South Shore, North Shore, and neighboring New England states to attend. In addition, we have added a third location in Chicopee, MA, at Exercise Finished, easily accessible by highway for those traveling on the Mass Pike and I-91.
Both the Northborough and Chicopee courses are taught by Tibby Chase, longtime dog trainer and AKC obedience judge (to read more about Tibby, I refer you to my January 22, 2015 post). Tibby’s course will run for three, two-hour sessions, with time spent at a nearby nursing home to hone skills and techniques taught in class. Dawn Kimball teaches our Northampton course in two, two-hour sessions at the training facility. Dawn’s classes receive rave reviews from participants who say they feel well-prepared, not only for the evaluation, but for making their visits once certified. Dawn has been a Bright Spot volunteer since 2006, and a Bright Spot evaluator since 2010.
Dates for our next Northampton Therapy Dog Training course and our new Northborough course are on our website. Sign up early. Space is limited and classes fill quickly. Hope to see you there. (Dates for our new Chicopee course TBA soon.)