A therapy dog provides therapeutic benefits to groups of humans. A service dog is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act as a dog that is trained specifically to do work for an individual with a disability.

A happy dog is a safe dog! The Alliance of Therapy Dogs teaches handlers to advocate for their dogs on therapy visits. This means keeping an eye out on body language and knowing her limits - if Wynnie gets stressed out or scared, our visit has to end. When I show Wynnie that I can listen to her, it keeps her communicating effectively with me.

Organizations that certify therapy dogs provide education, testing, screening, and, if all of these are completed satisfactorily, they provide liability insurance! Think of it this way - the ATD and other certifying organizations want to keep insurance costs as low as possible - they do that by testing dogs to ensure they can handle all kinds of settings, situations, and people.

No.

Yes.

It depends on the setting and the audience! Some therapy dogs are on duty for a regular 8 hour day as a part of the job their human does. Others may go in for a 15 minute visit to a specific individual in a nursing home.

Unfortunately, no. She can't have treats from anyone but Dak while she is "on the clock" as a therapy dog, as it violates her insurance policy.

Yes to all, and we bring health verification forms with us to every visit.

Nope! In order to stay covered by insurance, we have to, in good faith, stay at least 2 feet away from other animals while she is "on the clock". This is why she doesn't work from home.

Wynnie is a mix of a lot of different breeds! We encourage you to challenge your preconceived notions about certain breeds before deciding if you'd like to visit with Wynnie.

That being said, I will always share the information we got from doing a DNA test through Embark - I know that sometimes there are specific traumas associated with different breeds, and we want everyone to be comfortable.

20% American Pit Bull Terrier
20% American Bully
20% Cane Corso
18% Brittany
12% Treeing Walker Coonhound
8% American Bulldog