I became involved with Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) over 18 years ago after we acquired our first 2 shelties. I contacted numerous retirement homes in the area to ask if they were interested in having someone visit with 2 shelties. Out of approximately 15 letters one facility called me with a definite interest. In those days pet therapy was very much in it's infancy. I talked another family who had shelties into joining me in this venture. One Saturday afternoon each month 3 of us would get together with 3-4 of our shelties and spend 2 hours visiting with the residents.
When my husband accepted a job transfer I left that program in the capable hands of my sheltie neighbors. Soon after arriving at our new home I repeated this process, only this time I visited a facility by myself usually accompanied by 2 of my 3 shelties.
A few years into my monthly visits I learned that there was a test where my dogs could be evaluated and certified for pet therapy work. I took advantage of this opportunity and soon 3 of my 4 shelties had earned their Canine Good Citizens (CGC) and their Therapy Dog International (TDI) titles. Not long after these tests were administered I learned about the need for pet therapy volunteers at the Harrisburg State Hospital. I joined forces with the hospital and quickly became involved in their growing program. Soon I became one of 3 pet therapy evaluators due to my prior years of experience in this area.
Today I remain as a pet therapy evaluator for the hospital and visit weekly with 1 or 2 of my shelties. The residents really look forward to our weekly visits.
In addition to these activities I have written numerous articles for publication concering pet therapy and on various highlights of being a pet therapy volunteer.
If you are interested in learning more about pet therapy or would like to volunteer your services either with a cat or a dog to the Harrisburg State Hospital AAT program please feel free to contact me to learn more about this rewarding volunteer activity.
