I'm thrilled - I've just got the pack through because Barney has been accepted as a "Pets As Therapy" Dog. This means we can visit retirement homes, schools, hospitals etc - places where many people live but never get to see pets. He had to pass an assessment to see if he was suitable and I had to be background checked so two months after we sent off our application we're ready to go. When I think about the mad ball of stressy energy that I took on 15 months ago from the shelter I'm really proud of his progress and couldn't wait to share with you. As soon as I get a picture of him in his "uniform" I'll be sure to post it. If you're interested and want to know more the charity's website address is www.petsastherapy.org Carole A very proud lab mum!
Re: A very proud moment Thats great news Carole. Well done to you and Barney Does he get to wear a special PAT dog uniform? Pippa
Re: A very proud moment Hi Carole, Just got home from the Game Fair to read your exciting news, congratulations (to you both)!! Paul.
Re: A very proud moment Congratulations Carole. My MiLs last dog was a PAT dog for many years, and she was a rescue too. It brings so much pleasure to people. And they are really picky, so it shows what you've achieved with him. I loved the fact that Abi (the dog) even had her own photo Id! )
Re: A very proud moment Thanks Everyone Yes Pippa, it's optional but I've ordered the full kit - collar, lead & jacket & t shirt for me We both have photo id already plus a little P.A.T. tag for his collar. (he looks so handsome in his id ) They've now given me the list of places on the waiting list. There are 22 within 5 miles! Apparently compared to many areas that's a short list. Most have been waiting for years - 4 on the list have been waiting since the year 2000!!!!! It just shows how much demand there is, I'm sure more people would volunteer if they knew about it. I've decided to do 1 hour a week at first to see how we get on and how he copes too. But spread ourselves around by going once a month to 4 different places. I'll let you know how we get on Carole
Re: A very proud moment What did you have to do to get involved? Perhaps we can demystify it a bit for people...
Re: A very proud moment Hi Carole I would be very interested to hear how you get on, what your visits involve and so on. And Please can we see a photo! Pippa
Re: A very proud moment Hi Sam, it's not difficult but it is a bit protracted here are the steps; I went on the website www.petsastherapy.org on the volunteers section and found details of my local contact & rang her to ask a few questions then I went back onto the site and requested an application pack. I then had to ring to find my nearest assessor to get Barney assessed for suitability. The dog must be over 18 months old, healthy, and must turn up to be assessed on normal collar and lead. halti dogs aren't ready to be PAT dogs. The assessor looks at a range of behaviours such as reaction to sudden noise eg someone drops a crutch, being handled or groomed, grabbed suddenly, how they take treats and so on. We were there about 30 minutes. The assessor fills in a form and gives it back to you. They can't say passed or failed. YOu then fill out a form complete with two character references on you, send a pic of yourself and the dog for the ids, proof of vaccination etc along with a cheque for £19 to cover their costs doing searches on you, and the id cards etc. They do take up references and so on and so expect to wait up to 12 weeks for a response. If you're accepted they send you a handbook, id card, id tag and details of your local contact. I rang her and she emailed me a list of places waiting for a visit. Up to me which one(s) I pick. You then set up an initial meeting to find out if it's somewhere you'll both enjoy visiting. The list on my area was mainly residential retirement homes, a few nursing homes and a special needs school. There's also a form or two to fill in to make sure the insurance is in place and there's some common sense guidelines such as not being alone with vulnerable people always make sure there's a member of staff around. Pippa here's the pic I used for his id - luckily I have a white wall in my garden so it looks like a studio shot
Re: A very proud moment It might also be worth mentioning that Barney is immunised homeopathically. For this I had to send a receipt from the VET that I had been supplied with the nosodes and I signed a letter to say that I had given him them as instructed.
Re: A very proud moment That is a beautiful pic! Thanks for sharing the information, do you mind if I put it on the main website too? I am sure it would appeal to lots of labrador owners. Pippa
Re: A very proud moment Of course you can share Pippa - the more people know the better I'll let you know how we get on - it's our first appointment tomorrow at a residential home, Barney's heard that there's lots of custard creams in these places and that he's in with a chance of lots of fuss so he'll be in lab heaven. obviously I just need to keep an eye on what people want to give him. My co-ordinator also warned me if I hand a dog treat to a resident to give him they understand it's for the dog and not them!!
Re: A very proud moment Hi Carole, What a beautiful looking Dog, good luck with your new venture I am sure you two will give so much pleasure to the not so fortunate. Paul.
Our First visit We had our first visit today to a Retirement home that also has some dementia sufferers. Barney was very excited when we first arrived wagging his whole body at meeting so many new people - for a minute or two I was worried - first the manager had a big open wastebasket which he took to be a toy box and helped himself to a tissue from it, then her assistant turns out to be dog phobic. She hadn't been warned we were coming and started shrieking this meant Barney thought she wanted to play and tried to go to say hello - but it only took a biscuit to distract him from all of that (god bless the lab love of food!) Anyway after a few minutes he was lying down happily waiting to see what happened next. We did a walk round of the public areas letting everyone who was interested give him some fuss. One lady who could hardly move, lying with her feet up and a towel on her chest because she doesn't have much control of her face and was dribbling, saw him and came back from whichever distant place she was in and really brightened up. I was choked just watching it. Barney sat nicely near her and let her stroke him. He's the perfect height for being stroked from a chair without bending ;D I smiled when I saw the box of custard creams (my friend Roger had told Barney they always have custard creams at old folks homes!) of course Barney got given a few in exchange for a paw shake which went down really well. We were only there half an hour but it made such a huge impact that one visit was worth jumping through the hoops to become registered. We're both looking forward to doing more. I found it quite easy to talk to people because of course all I was doing was agreeing with how lovely he is!
Re: A very proud moment I am so pleased your visit went well. I do think it is most generous of you to give up your time, and to share Barney in this way. I bet you both made the residents' day.
Re: A very proud moment It sounds like a wonderful visit and so pleased for you both it was successful. Congratulations and long may you both enjoy bringing such pleasure into others lives. Barbara
Re: A very proud moment Hi Carole Thanks for the updates. The process sounds straightforward, just necessarily a bit longwinded. It is so kind of you to give up your time like that - I hope at least you got a custard cream or two for yourself?! Sam
Re: A very proud moment Thanks Sam it's one benefit of being my own boss I can manage my time to my own will. Sadly no custard creams or even a cuppa for me , maybe next time or maybe once again Barney will quite rightly hog all the limelight Carole
