Therapy dog

Golden Retrievers are often used as therapy dogs due to their calm demeanor, gentle disposition, and friendliness to strangers.

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

Therapy dogs are usually not assistance or service dogs, but can be one or both with some organizations.(citation needed).

In the U.S., therapy dogs are not service animals and are not afforded the same privileges as them.^[1]

History

The systematic use of therapy dogs is attributed to Elaine Smith,^[2][3] who worked as a registered nurse. Smith noticed how well patients responded to visits by a chaplain and his Golden Retriever. In 1976, Smith started a program for training dogs to visit institutions, and the demand for therapy dogs continued to grow. In recent years, therapy dogs have been enlisted to help children overcome speech and emotional disorders.

A therapy dog, common at many disaster sites.

Classification

Therapy dogs are usually not assistance or service dogs, but can be one or both with some organizations. Therapy dogs are not trained to assist specific individuals and do not qualify as service dogs under the Americans with Disabilities Act.^[4] Institutions may invite, limit, or prohibit access by therapy dogs. If allowed, many institutions have rigorous requirements for therapy dogs. United States-based Therapy Dogs International (TDI) bans the use of service dogs in their therapy dog program.^[5][6] Service dogs perform tasks for persons with disabilities and have a legal right to accompany their owners in most areas.^[7] In the United States, service dogs are legally protected at the federal level by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Many organizations provide evaluation and registration for therapy dogs. In the United States, some organizations require that a dog pass the equivalent of the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen test and then add further requirements specific to the environments in which the dogs will be working. Other organizations have their own testing requirements. Typical tests might ensure that a dog can handle sudden loud or strange noises; can walk on assorted unfamiliar surfaces comfortably; are not frightened by people with canes, wheelchairs, or unusual styles of walking or moving; get along well with children and with the elderly; and so on.

In Canada, St John Ambulance provides therapy dog certification.

In the UK Pets As Therapy (PAT) provides visiting dogs and cats to establishments where pets are otherwise not available.

At colleges and universities

Therapy Fluffies at UC San Diego

Some colleges and universities in the United States bring therapy dogs to campus to help students de-stress. These campus events are often referred to as "Therapy Fluffies", a term coined by Torrey Trust, the original founder of the UC San Diego therapy dog de-stress event.^[8] In 2009, Sharon Franks, shared the idea of bringing therapy dogs to campus with the UC San Diego Office of Student Wellness.^[9] Similar events have been held worldwide.

Since the fall of 2010, “Therapy Fluffies” has visited the UC Davis and UC Riverside campuses during the week before midterms and finals.^[10][11] The UC Davis Stress and Wellness Clinic’s Mind Spa, located at the Student Health and Wellness Center on the second floor Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Clinic, hosts the event at least once per quarter.^[12] This event gives students and staff the opportunity to pet and relax with therapy-certified dogs from the Yolo County SPCA, Independent Therapy Dogs, Inc. and other therapy dog non-profit organizations.^[13] The UC Riverside Mental Health Outreach team holds “Therapy Fluffies” on the Highlander Union Building (HUB) lawn as a part of the campus’ Mental Health Day Spa.^[14] The team works with the Inland Empire Pet Partners, a service of the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley, to bring therapy-certified dogs to the quarterly event.^[15]

In 2014, Concordia University, Wisconsin became the first university in the U.S. to adopt a full-time therapy dog to its campus in Mequon, WI. The golden retriever, Zoey, is a Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Comfort Dog, trained to interact with people at churches, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, events, and in disaster response situations.^[16]

See also

• Animal-assisted therapy
• Therapy cat

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Therapy dogs.

References

External links

• National Geographic News article
• Development & Validation of a Research Instrument to Assess the Effectiveness of Animal-Assisted Therapy