Therapy Dogs
What is a Therapy Dog?
I know you came to this page thinking, I was looking for Therapy Dog information, why did it send me to a Service Dog Program?? Well, that is because we have a small group of fantastic dogs and handlers who do Therapy Dog work!
Therapy Dogs are not like Service Dogs. A Therapy Dog is owned by an individual who trains it to be kind, gentle, and loving towards other people. It is not the dog who is allowed public access rights, but is invited into places for the enjoyment of others.
Therapy Dogs are just amazing pets who have extra training to be allowed into hospitals, nursing homes, schools, libraries, court rooms, etc. They are there to provide comfort to those who need it. And they are amazing at the job!
To join the Scout's Legacy Therapy Dog group you would do training with us to earn your Canine Good Citizen and do the Therapy Dog Test. The dog must be a minimum of a year old to test, but we start the training as young as 10 weeks!
If you have ever wanted to give back to your community, then please reach out to let us help you train your pup. We have many occasions on the books for helping others and are always looking for more handlers and teams to help us fulfill those needs.
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What should I expect?
With Scout's Legacy Therapy Dogs we will be providing the training from start to finish to get your dog ready for Therapy Dog work. You will go through 6 lessons, testing, and attend outings with our other dogs to make sure your dog has what it takes. Just like with our service dog program, every therapy dog who comes into our program will be required to pass a temperament test. After the dogs pass the Canine Good Citizen and the Scout's Legacy Therapy Dog test, we will add you to a group that will help you know when events and locations are looking for therapy dog teams to join. We get asked to help with teacher appreciation days, reading to dog programs, and big events. We have some hospitals and nursing homes we work with and are looking into helping with court rooms for children who are testifying. The cost to join is only $150 a month until graduation, and then a yearly fee to have you be apart of the program once graduated. This will help cover insurances on dogs and gear.
