Second edition

A therapy dog is a dog trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospital, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools etc. Any breed of dog can become a therapy dog. The most important characteristic of a therapy dog is first and foremost its temperament. A good therapy dog must be friendly, patient, confident, gentle and at ease in many types of different situations. Therapy dogs must enjoy human contact and be happy to be petted and handled by unfamiliar people. To become a certified therapy dog your dog must be examined by an organization that runs a therapy dog program to test its suitability for the line of work it may be exposed to. I recently attended a Therapy dogs night held on behalf of Dogs Victoria which is organized by Nicky Abel and other volunteers. The night was well attended with over 15 dogs and their owners/handlers. There was a great variety of breeds including an Old English Sheepdog, Rottweilers, Great Danes, Pyrenean Mountain Dog and many other breeds both big and small. The dogs are tested for a variety of situations, how they react to the elderly, shaky hands, walking sticks, heavy petting, walking frames, wheel chairs and people wearing hats and glasses. I would estimate the pass rate on the night was around 70%. Some dogs did not cope with being stared at or having walking sticks and frames around them. For the dogs that did not pass on this assessment night, advice was given on how to help them overcome such issues and these dogs were invited to re-sit the test at a later date if the owner felt comfortable in overcoming these hurdles. 5HFHQWO\ WKH *UHDW 'DQH &OXE RI 9LFWRULD ZDV DSSURDFKHG E\ D WHUPLQDOO\ LOO JHQWOHPDQÂśV IDPLO\ to see if there was a Great Dane who could pay him a visit in his final days in hospital. The gentlemen had Great Danes for many years throughout his life and wanted to have the chance to see one for the last time. After a few phone calls a suitable dog was found which was able to FDUU\ RXW WKLV PDQÂśV ILQDO ZLVK E\ YLVLWLQJ KLP LQ KRVSLWDO ODWer that same afternoon. The owner of the Therapy Dog was later informed that the elderly gentleman had passed away a few days after the visit. The family was grateful for the visit from a Therapy Dog, they said it bought him and them much joy in his final days. Being a therapy dog handler can be a very rewarding, and uplifting experience. Should you wish to learn more about Dogs Victoria's Therapy Dog program please visit www.dogsvictoria.org.au/GetInvolved/WhatisaTherapyDog.aspx