I might take jake to go get therapy dog certified at the end of january. Hes trained but i read that i cant bring a clicker or treats to the test. Is anyone on this site certified? is the test hard? if we do pass, is volunteering sometimes a little overwhelming?
-Mary

Mary - one of my bichons, Breezy, was the first Bichon Frise certified in the state of Missouri. We went thru 4 months of training - and the ending test was BRUTAL. But, yes - it was worth it.

Breezy passed away almost 5 years ago of pancreatic cancer, but I have such fond memories of going thru training with her and her resulting hospital and nursing home visits. Brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it...

i guess we have some more training to do then! Jake is such a great dog and loves kids so i thought he could make someone else laugh for once, not just me. i took a look at the test and the only thing i see is jake having to do the long down for 3 minutes.

Im so sorry about breezy, it always seems to hit us hard when a dog passes, i know the feeling.

Go Jake!!! I can't get my son to sit for 3 minutes. My dog-can't get her to stand for 3 minutes. Things are a little backwards around here...

Breezy and I volunteered mainly at Cardinal Glennon Children's hospital in St Louis. We did a lot of therapy work. For instance, one little boy had to work his legs, so they put him in a little Fred Flinstone type car so he had to use his legs to make it move. He would just sit there and scream and cry and didnt want to do it. Here comes Breezy, this little white fluffy dog - and he had to "Race" with her. Then physical therapy became a game.

We visited several children who had terminal cancer. They all loved her because she was small and fluffy and could get into bed with them. Breeze was trained not to get tangled up in their IV's - and to walk with children using crutches and wheel chairs.

We also worked in a mental institution - that is a whole other post!

Got to get back to work!

Rita-as the Director of Nursing in a long=term care facility I want to thank people like you and guitargeek01 for the generosity of your time and pet. People who are not knowledgeable about pet therapy cannot know what this time does for a patient. They talk about the visits up to the time of the next visit. You bring sunshine to these people who have very little to smile about. People with Alzheimer's disease seem to remember the love of an animal, those who are dieing of cancer or some other diease remember the love an warmth of our furry friends. Thank you so much

Do nursing homes/care facilities ever keep a pet permanently at the centers? I guess you'd have issues like allergies, but it seems like this could be great for the pet and the people.

ive heard of people keeping smaller birds at nursing homes, but other animals, i dont know.

I have till january 31st, i hope im ready!

There are many nursing homes that have resident dogs and cats.