Miniature American Shepherd Club of Great Britain
FOUNDED 2013
Therapy
A therapy dog is a dog trained to provide love and comfort to people in in a variety ofsettings such as hospice, hospitals, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, sites of catastrophe, the learning disabled and schools. Therapy dogs are not any specific breed or type.
The most essential attribute of a therapy dog is the personality, character and disposition.
The ideal therapy dog must be sociable, patient, confident, calm, and comfortable in any situation. They must like human interaction and be content when being touched, petted and handled.The most important function of a therapy dog is to allow strangers of all ages to pet and handle them.
They might need to sit on someone's lap, on a hospital bed, the floor or other situations. Some dogs are trained in performing small tricks to entertain. Therapy dogs can be instrumental in providing a smooth and calming experience reducing the anxiety of death to terminally ill patients.
MAS Puppy meeting and snuggling up with Owen (The winner of the Friends For Life award at Crufts in 2013 with his dog Haatchi.)
Pets As Therapy
Pets As Therapy is a national charity founded in 1983. It is unique in that it provides therapeutic visits to hospitals, hospices, nursing and care homes, special needs schools and a variety of other venues by volunteers with their own friendly, temperament tested and vaccinated dogs and cats.
Since it’s beginning over 28,000 PAT dogs have been registered into the Pets As Therapy scheme. Every year some of these retire and new dogs, having first been examined and passed on health, temperament, suitability and stability grounds, join Pets As Therapy.
