Our highly successful Bright Spot Therapy Dog Training Classes are finishing up for the year at our Northampton location, Animal Alliances, on Damon Road. This is our two-session, workshop-format course that meets two consecutive Sunday mornings from 10:00-12:00. Our Greenfield location, NB Productions, on Hope Street, will carry its current 8-weeks course into mid-January.
This is our first year holding Bright Spot Therapy Dog Training Classes as a requirement for evaluation and certification. The classes are taught by Dawn Kimball (Northampton) and Pam Murphy (Greenfield) who have years of experience training, visiting, and living with dogs. Our Therapy Dog Training classes teach the handler and dog (referred to as The Team) the skills and techniques they need to know to make successful therapy dog visits.
Our classes have been well-received by people near and far who are seeking to become involved with the ever-growing field of therapy dog visiting. Due to the popularity of our classes, we have increased the number of Bright Spot certified volunteers by 100%. People come here to western Massachusetts from the eastern part of the state (Boston, The Cape, and in between), and from the neighboring New England states.
This amazing success has come as a pleasant surprise to our Bright Spot Board of Directors, as each Board member has worked double-time to accommodate the increase in numbers. We will open the New Year with a full schedule of classes in both our Northampton and Greenfield locations. Folks interested in training for therapy dog work and certification in Bright Spot Therapy Dogs should check our website often for posted class dates. A word to the wise: Sign up asap. Classes fill quickly.