There are several different organizations that do Pet Therapy Certification or Registration. The Therapy Pets Serving Mini-Cassia is comprised of two different certifications/registrations. Delta Society which is based out of Salt Lake City Certifies about half of the animals in our group. The other half of our group are Register Members of Therapy Dogs Inc. Both organizations cover our animals with insurance and both require evaluations of the animals to be allowed to do therapy work with them. There is a large difference in the process. Delta Society has a more in depth test with mock visitations that the animal has to pass to be Certified through Delta Society. You can get more information on Delta from their web site at www.deltasociety.org. Therapy Dogs Inc. has a more basic test, but requires a minimum of three observations of the handler and dog team in during real visitations. You can get more information on Therapy Dogs Inc. from their website at www.therapydogs.com.
You can find more information on pet therapy at both the Therapy Dogs Inc. website www.therapydogs.com or the Delta Society website www.deltasociety.org. There are also several books available on the subject. If you would like to go with our group on a visit to see what we do and what it is like send us an e-mail at therapypets@yahoo.com and we will contact you and setup a time and place.
To become a member of Therapy Pets Serving Mini-Cassia you need to contact the group at therapypets@yahoo.com. We can use help with crafts and ideas for crafts and fund raisers.
If you have an animal and wish to get involved with the therapy visits with your animal we can help get you started. If you want to go through Delta Society we have some members that can help you with the requirements and steps you need to complete to become certified through Delta Society.
If you have a dog and want to get started with Therapy Dogs Inc. we have a member who is a Therapy Dog Tester/Observer who can assist you with the evaluation and get you started if your animal passes the test.
Therapy animals must like people and want to interact with them. Therapy work is hard and at times draining. The animals have to enjoy the work and want to do it to be able to handle the strain that sometimes occurs. I, Lori K., personally have several animals in my household and currently have four dogs who are registered to do therapy. I do have another dog at home that would pass all the tests, but he does not like people. He would hate the visits and it would not be a good time for him or me. Therapy Dogs Inc. only certifies dogs. Delta Society will certify several animals for therapy work. The rule is the same for all the animals they must have good manners and like people. Manners can be taught, but liking people is either there or not there. If the animal does not have it they will not make a therapy animal. That does not mean that they are not a good dog or pet for you and your family it just means that they are not cut out for therapy work. It is just like people some people like to help others and some do not, that is just the way it is.
Send us an e-mail at therapypets@yahoo.com or contact one of the organizations through their websites. Any of us can help get you moving in the right direction.
The cost of doing pet therapy is in the Registration or Certification fees, equipment and time. My dogs have special collars and leads that they only wear when they are doing visits. They are not worn or used any other time. This is not required, the only thing that is required is that you have use only the equipment approved by your Registering/Certifying group.
Therapy Dogs Inc.'s fee is $20.00 a year for a one person one dog team. The Therapy Dog Inc. evaluation is free. www.therapydogs.com
To join Delta Society you will need to either attend a workshop which is about $65.00 or do the home study course, you can order the book from their website it is about $30.00. The Evaluation fees are different depending on the evaluator they range from $5.00 to $20.00. The Certification with Delta Society is currently $75.00 for two years for a one person one pet team.
The cost of Therapy Pets Serving Mini-Cassia is fairly low. Therapy Pets does not have a fee to join and the only expenses would be if you want to order shirts to wear on visits with our logo. We try to do fund raisers and other activities to pay for the gifts we give out to the residents. We sometimes end up funding some things from our own funds. This is completely volunteer and you do not have to participate.
The number of times you visit is all up to you and your animal. We currently have 12 visits a month on our schedule. You can go to as many or few as you need. We all work and have other lives. It is whatever works for your life
There is not one magic breed of dog that makes a therapy pet. It is not the breed it is the attitude. This holds true for all animals. They must like people and like to visit. Past that everything else can be taught, but you can not teach an animal to like people.