A few weeks ago, Perri completed the 50 therapy visits required for the AKC Therapy Dog title. The certificate came in the mail today!
I wish I had a rousing, deeply emotional post to write about this - but I do not. Right now we visit three places: the library - which is currently a cuddle and fan club hour for Perri. And I am okay with that. Kids need to love reading, in whatever way possible.
The other two places are a private home of a gentleman who is not being cared for properly by his home care provider, and a nursing home where my friend's husband's aunt is dying of cancer. I am feeling a little bit sad about pet therapy this week.
But it is amazing. Perri is amazing with this work. She greets people politely, she licks their hands, she gazes into their eyes, she leans gently against them with her whole body so they have a large surface area to pet. She was made for this. And while I wish that she was made for Obedience or Agility, it is therapy work that she is made for right now. And that is okay, really. It is. My dog is made to love and bring happiness - how can I be disappointed in that? I am far from disappointed, I am so proud.
Congrats on the achievement! I am researching therapy dog organizations right now to choose the one that's best for us to certify with. You are with TDInc. right? Is there a reason you chose that one?
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteI am with TDInc. To be fair I only researched first TDI, and found their testing requirements to be too intensive, but mostly I was having a very difficult time getting Perri tested. Testing dates were scarce, and I even had a tester cancel on me. It was frustrating! I researched TDInc second and really found our match. The test was very user friendly and "real world", and after we passed that we were required to be observed and tested during three or four observation therapy visits. As a new team, I really appreciated that support and felt it was a really good move for a therapy organization, to see what their new teams are made of.
I wrote this post for TeamUnruly.com about Perri's process to becoming a therapy dog.
http://teamunruly.com/?p=4484