OUR HANDLER/PET TEAMS
FEATURED TEAM STORY
“This feels so good!” These are the 4 words that our dog/handler team Koda and Beth hear most often during their pet therapy visits. Here is their story, as told by Beth – just one of many like it from Pets Helping People volunteer teams:
“When my patient, laid-back English lab came along telling me she needed a ‘job,’ we went through training with Pets Helping People. We have been a certified team for almost a year… Read the full story >>
OUR TEAMS
- The human component
- Working professionals, retired citizens, students, and junior handlers (must be 16 and accompanied by a parent/guardian)
- Anyone sincerely interested in enriching the lives of others through sharing his/her dog
- The dog component
- Purebred, mix breed, champion, rescue, one-time shelter, young and senior dogs, all are welcome
- Dogs with 4 legs, 3 legs, dogs who can see and even dogs who are blind
Handler/Pet Teams – Click here to submit your pet therapy visit information.
WHY DO OUR TEAMS MATTER?
- Their desire to have their dogs help others aligns with our mission to help others
- Each handler/pet team brings unique skills to share their kindness and affection
- Ex: Performing tricks, snuggling, playing ball, listening or just being close
- Unconditional love and acceptance is common through all
- Handlers facilitate all that happens and play an integral role in the interaction
- maintain awareness of safety procedures
- advocate for their dogs
- monitor and direct the visit
To learn more about the criteria to be considered for a therapy dog, visit our Training Page.
To see where our teams’ visit, visit our Partners Page.
SHARE YOUR STORY WITH US
If you are a PHP team and have a memorable story to share – please contact us.
WAGGIN’ TAILS AND SPECIAL VISITS
Waggin’ Tails (WT) and SPECIAL visits are opportunities for teams to come together to share their dogs as part of a group.
Our WT group puts on shows for individuals of all ages and needs. Each show is tailored to meet the unique needs of our audiences. All shows include a bit of education, some story-telling, demonstrations of therapy dog required behaviors, and some tricks. All shows end with everyone’s favorite part – individual dog visits with each person in the audience and some songs.
SPECIAL visits are with teams that visit with larger groups of people without the “show.” Some typical SPECIAL visits are stress-relief events at schools, businesses and special events.
If you are a PHP Team and think this may be something you and your dog might want to try, give us a call at 414-393-1111 or email petshelpingpeople@att.net
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