What is Pet Therapy?  At the most basic level, it is animal assisted visits with people in need of comfort. Visits are done as a team with the pet and owner both being an integral part of a successful visit.  A few of the places you’ll find teams visiting are:  schools, hospitals, nursing homes, correctional institutions, rehabilitation centers, community centers, offices, and in hospice settings. Most facilities require that teams be certified through a formal application and evaluation process (although sometimes Sheltie owners make a visit just as a friend if the facility allows). Pet Therapy requires a dog that knows basic obedience skills and is confident in unusual or unfamiliar situations. Those are skills can be taught and learned.  More importantly, pet therapy requires a dog who makes connections, is gentle, enjoys being patted, touched, and yes – loved.  Those traits are part of personality and temperament; every dog will not make a good therapy dog.

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