Our October Therapy Dog Team Training Class participants pose with our trainer Michelle Karb and her assistant Annabel.
Bright Spot Therapy Dogs just graduated a full class of dogs and handlers who are well-prepared for the next step in the certification process.
The dogs and their handlers finish our therapy dog training course armed with the necessary skills and techniques to make meaningful visits in a wide variety of environments-healthcare, education, and business. All participants will be scheduled for a one-on-one therapy dog team evaluation held on-site at an area assisted living facility. Our Bright Spot evaluators have the perspective team conduct visits with residents in the facility and observe whether or not the dog and handler properly perform the techniques taught in class. Our trainer and our evaluators are Bright Spot volunteers themselves and have years of experience visiting with their own dogs.
Class participants role-play as patients using equipment found in healthcare facilities
Once certified with Bright Spot Therapy Dogs, the teams receive our official Welcome Pack
The pack contains certificate of certification, volunteer insurance coverage, identification badges for both handler and dog, a Bright Spot blue vest for the dog and a Bright Spot blue t-shirt for the handler to wear while visiting. In addition, teams certified with Bright Spot have exclusive access to our members’ portion of our website where they will find our official List of Visiting Opportunities containing a variety of facilities working with people of all ages.
Some teams like visiting young children in schools…
Some teams enjoy visiting the elderly in assisted living facilities…
Some teams comfort those on hospice care…
Some teams enjoy participating in our group Therapy Dog Stress-Relief events on college campuses…
And some teams love visiting with the veterans in our Third-Saturday-of-the- Month Visits at The Soldiers Home…
With over 200 facilities on our List of Visiting Opportunities, there’s the perfect visiting location available for every Bright Spot Therapy Dog team.
Remember: Bright Spot trains and certifies therapy dog teams throughout New England.
Plan to join us for our final class of 2017 running December 3 and 10. For details and the steps involved to receive Bright Spot Certification, please visit our website and sign-up today.