Questions?

Many people are confused by the terms Service Dog, Assistance Dog, Emotional Support Dog, and Therapy Dog.  These terms are thought by many to mean the same thing.  Often by people who should know the difference.  Like mailmen, firemen, policemen, servicemen, all these dogs wear a uniform – a vest – which I suppose adds to the confusion.  All of these dogs perform a job.   A distinctly different job.

I receive at least one call or email a week from a person asking to get his or her dog certified as a Service Dog.  When I explain to the person making the inquiry that Bright Spot Therapy Dogs is a Therapy Dog organization and we can’t help them with a Service Dog, the reply invariably is, But aren’t they the same thing?  One caller said she had just read through our entire website and it was all about becoming a Service Dog.  She was very confused, was seeking help for her son with autism, and was grateful for the time I spent on the phone explaining the difference to her.

Grouping Service, Assistance, and Emotional Support Dogs together, these dogs are all trained to help the person they live with.  Therapy Dogs stand alone.  These dogs are trained with their handler to go to health care and educational facilities to help others in need.  Hospitals, nursing homes, hospice, mental health units, Alzheimer’s units, schools – both public and private, and colleges are  commonly visited by a trained certified Therapy Dog Team.

A certified Bright Spot Therapy Dog Team visits folks at The Soldiers Home

Wikipedia offers a clear explanation for each of these terms:

An assistance dog is a dog trained to aid or assist a person with a disability. Many are trained by a specific organization, while others are trained by their handler (sometimes with the help of a professional trainer).

A service dog is a type of assistance dog specifically trained to help people who have disabilities including visual difficulties, hearing impairments, mental illness, seizures, diabetes, autism, and more.

An emotional support animal (ESA) is a companion animal that provides therapeutic benefit, such as alleviating or mitigating some symptoms of the disability, to an individual with a mental or psychiatric disability.

A therapy dog is a dog trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, hospices, disaster areas, and to people with learning difficulties.

A certified Bright Spot Therapy Dog Team works with children in an elementary school.

The American Kennel Club makes a clear distinction on their website between Therapy Dogs and Service Dogs:

Therapy dogs are dogs who go with their owners to volunteer in settings such as schools, hospitals, and nursing homes. From working with a child who is learning to read to visiting a senior in assisted living, therapy dogs and their owners work together as a team to improve the lives of other people.

Therapy dogs are not service dogs. Service dogs are dogs who are specially trained to perform specific tasks to help a person who has a disability. An example of a service dog is a dog who guides an owner who is blind, or a dog who assists someone who has a physical disability. Service dogs stay with their person and have special access privileges in public places such as on planes, restaurants, etc. Therapy dogs, the dogs who will be earning the AKC Therapy Dog™ title, do not have the same special access as service dogs. It is unethical to attempt to pass off a therapy dog as a service dog for purposes such as flying on a plane or being admitted to a restaurant.

photo: off internet images. A certified service dog assists his person with crossing the street.

I am very pleased that the American Kennel Club piece ends with the following statement:  It is unethical to attempt to pass off a therapy dog as a service dog for purposes such as flying on a plane or being admitted to a restaurant.  Hard to believe?  I have witnessed people doing this, and I find it appalling.  I can guarantee that a person legitimately entering such places with a service dog would love to trade places with anyone able to walk in freely, unassisted.  Would the impostor like to make the trade?

Violet ready to visit folks at the nursing home

People often ask me why I devote my time to visiting facilities with my therapy dogs.  Why, they wonder, did I leave a career in private school fundraising and development work to found a therapy dog organization.  The answer:  Nothing could prevent me from doing this meaningful work.  Over the past twenty 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, mental health facilities, schools and libraries.  I have never left a facility without feeling that my dog has helped at least one person feel happier, less lonely, and comforted.

Some days, like today, are extra special days.  While Violet and I were visiting folks in the physical therapy room at the nursing home, a woman came in and asked to speak with me in the corridor.  She put her arms around me and gave me a hug saying, Thank you.  I followed your advice and brought our dog in to visit my husband.  Seeing the dog made him so happy.  He loved it.  I have you to thank for that.  I never would have done that.  This woman’s husband has been in the Alzheimer’s Unit for two years.  Since entering, he hasn’t been home again.  He hadn’t seen his dog in two years.  I told her how much her husband enjoys seeing my dogs that I bring through each week.  She was surprised to hear that he had shown any reaction to seeing them.

Through the years I have observed patients with varying stages of Alzheimer’s and Dementia react favorably to interacting with the dogs.  Typically, these folks make little eye contact and don’t speak.  When they see the dog, they connect visually and often start speaking in sentences about the dog or about a dog they had.  The dogs do wonders for folks stricken with this disease.  What a wonderful feeling it is to be able to share my special dogs with others.

I am often asked about the time commitment involved with doing therapy dog visits.  People want to get involved with therapy dog visiting with their well trained dog, but question whether they will be able to fit it into their schedule.  They wonder if they are required to put in a certain about of visiting hours; or if visiting can only occur on a weekday.

Bright Spot Therapy Dogs, Inc. currently has a volunteer force of 75 people – and at least 50% of these folks have regular 9:00-5:00 work schedules.  About 35% of the folks are self-employed and have a flexible schedule.  The remaining 15% are retired.  Fortunately, the list of visiting opportunities we have (over 60 right here where we’re based in Western Massachusetts), offers a wide range of possibilities for weekdays, evenings, and weekends.  There literally is something for everyone.

I work mainly from home and have a flexible schedule which allows me to visit my two facilities with James during the day on Wednesdays and Thursdays.  These days accommodate the other needs of my weekly schedule.  People who visit in hospitals often visit at night after work.  This is actually a very good time to visit a hospital because patients are more apt to be in their rooms rather then off having a test or being examined by a physician.  You simply would select a visiting location that accommodates your individual schedule and set up your visiting times with the point person at the facility.

Some people visit once every-other-week, others visits as much as 2-3 times weekly.  Again, it’s all about what works for you.  And, if you want badly enough to do this meaningful activity with your dog, you can make it work for you.  Don’t miss out… Many volunteers have told me It’s the best thing they’ve ever done!

Both ends of the leash are important…

In the early 90’s, when I first started visiting with my therapy dog Beatrice, I thought it was all up to her – she was the dog – and that’s what people were interested in. In part, I was quite spoiled…  Beatrice was one of those naturals – she could have gone into the nursing home on her own.  She instinctively knew just how to position herself for the particular patient she was visiting; as she moved onto the next, she knew just how to interact with them.  She needed very little direction from me.

As we continued visiting through the years, though, I realized that I, in fact, played a very important role.  The concept that we were a team – a therapy dog team – took shape in my mind.  First, and foremost, I had to watch out for my dog’s safety while visiting in a busy healthcare facility.  If her long tail were stretched out full length in the hallway, a wheelchair could drive right over it; medicine carts are parked near the nurses’ station and should be avoided.  It was my job to see that she didn’t enter rooms where food was being served; and know when to end the visit when she showed signs of having had enough.  Aside from safety issues, once Beatrice ignited conversation with a patient, I learned that I, too, should add a few leading questions to stimulate further conversation. This being one of the goals of therapy dog visits.

My subsequent therapy dogs have not been quite as easy as Beatrice…  Rather then being naturals in the role – their abilities evolved.  I found myself having to work harder; to work at maneuvering my dogs so that the patients could pet them.  For a patient with limited mobility, I learned to make it possible for the patient to feel their soft fur (even though the patient was unable to stroke the fur).  Sometimes kneeing to brace the dogs and prevent slipping on a smooth-surfaced floor; for a patient lying in bed, placing a chair next to the bed for the dogs to sit on within easy reach of the patient.

Such skills and techniques are learned and advance over time as you and your dog develop teamwork.  The human and canine participants are working together to stimulate movement and conversation; to promote a feeling of comfort and caring.  Done properly, both ends of the leash are busy working…  and at the end of the visit, the team partners leave feeling pretty tired – but most of all, both the dog and the human volunteer know that they have brightened the day for those they have visited.  A good therapy dog loves his job…  My dogs literally run into their therapy dog vests when it’s time to get ready to leave the house for our visits.

I think you’ll find that most therapy dog organizations require a dog to be at least one year old, giving time for basic training to have occurred.  But, that having been said, I always tell people – the older, the better.  Starting the process too early can often be discouraging and end in aborting the idea completely.

Certain breeds mature more quickly then others.  I think Poodles and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels were born knowing how to be therapy dogs – while Labs and English Setters are slow to mature and more challenging to train.  And, within a certain breed there are differences.  One person came to me to have his young Lab evaluated.  Just over a year old, I was dubious.  The dog amazed me – he was truly a natural!  I complimented the owner on his obvious good training – and he replied, Thank you, but I can’t take credit for him being like this – he was born this way!

If at the age of one year, you feel your dog is ready, then by all means schedule an evaluation.  If you are uncertain, I suggest you seek the opinion of a professional trainer.  This is one of the services I offer folks with private instruction.  It gives you the opportunity to see if in fact your dog is ready – before you apply for the formal evaluation process.