Home Page › Blog › How to Register Your Dog as a Therapy Dog?
Latest Posts
Can You Get a Service Dog for a Heart Condition?
Quite a few of us have had a dog steal our hearts, but did you know they can also save it? Dogs provide companionship and comfort. But for people who struggle with dangerous heart conditions, service dogs can also help monitor their heart condition. Medical Alert Service Dogs Medical alert service dogs—or more specifically, Cardiac […]
Florida Service Dog Requirements
The Sunshine State allows service dogs to travel, reside with, and perform daily living activities with their owners. The State of Florida aligns with the federal American Disabilities Act (ADA), which provides service dog owners the rights and privacy with their service dogs. These rights cannot be denied, regardless of the local jurisdiction laws or […]
Complete Checklist of Stress Signs for Service Dogs
Service dogs are always working to ensure and protect the welfare of their human handler. Therefore, these dogs can experience and accumulate a lot of stress each day. It’s essential for handlers to recognize signs of stress for their service dogs, and to understand ways of preventing and lowering stress for these animals. This allows […]
I recently became the owner of a beagle who was cast out from his breeders for not being interested in hunting for sport as he is an exceptionally calm and clingy. They wanted him to be aggressive and to hunt and kill small animals but he didn’t want to hunt with his brother and sister so the breeders decided to get rid of him as he was useless to them. That’s when “Shmoo” came into my life and yes that is the new name I gave him as his breeders wanted to call him ‘Brutus’ which is just plain silly as he is like 14lbs soaking wet and about as scary as a teddy bear and he will attack you with kisses. He would also not respond to Brutus but if you muttered “shmoo” he came running….and also it is fun for my 2 year old niece to say.
As the weeks went on, I noticed that Shmoo was abnormally attached to me even though I live with a lot of family in a tenement house with young nieces and children that he could play with and my sister has a dog as well but he shows little to no interest with them and will stick by my side like glue, but he will also sit near other members of my family and is not completely anti-social with them, in fact he likes my dad a lot. I began taking Shmoo for walks at the park and the local reservations and we both love spending the day together out in the woods and it makes me happy to watch him taking in all the new scents and scenery and I would smile when he would stop what he was doing and look up to see where I was.
Recently however, while on my way to work, I have been getting this overwhelming sensation that Shmoo is in the car with me and I will even turn around to check the back seat because I am certain that he is there, but he isn’t. When I get home from work sometimes I get stuck there for 10-16-20hrs because of staffing issues and me being a supervisor am required to cover gaps in the shift if no staff are available. This leaves Shmoo afraid and confused as to why I am not taking him with me and I can tell because when I come home, he whimpers and sometimes barks at me because he can’t contain his excitement and he shivers and jitters till he calms down and this makes me sad that he misses me that much to have a full body meltdown because he loves me so much.
After 3 months with Shmoo I can say that the love is mutual and he is helping me deal with stress and depression better than the medical marijuana I am using to treat my stress/depression is. It dawned on me the other day when I went to the bank and he couldn’t come inside with me and although I was only inside for literally 5minutes, when I returned he had a mini meltdown and layed across my lap for the entire rest of the ride to the park (20+min) and didn’t even look out the window. I realized that I am helping Shmoo with his anxiety and rejection he is feeling from being mistreated by his former breeders as he is helping me overcome my issues.
I want to have him registered so that he can accompany me wherever I go and will have him trained if needed, but honestly he is so calm he doesn’t need any public safety training, as people at the parks we go to walk up and pet him all the time and he doesn’t mind the extra attention and has never shown aggression to anyone even when my nieces pull on his super oversized droopy ears.
Shmoo??? That’s the cutest name I’ve ever heard. Thank you
Im interested in learning what I need to do to get a license for my dog to be a therapy dog. I am willing to take her to classes and I desire to take her to convalescent homes. What are the necessary steps to begin with? How long does the process take and where do I get the certification that it’s a therapy dog?
My dog rescued me, I am a cancer survivor and looked everyday in the shelter for a year for her. As soon as our eyes met, we both knew, we rescued each other.
I don’t know how to add her photos or I would.
If my dog became therapy dog can she fly with us
Unfortunately, no. Therapy dogs do not have the same access rights as service dogs. Their rights are limited to select establishments and would be handled as normal pets on planes. You may find this article on the difference between therapy dogs, emotional support dogs, and service dogs interesting https://www.servicedogcertifications.org/difference-service-dog-emotional-support-animal/
And I really really need to register my puppy to be my therapy puppy now and I got asthma really bad short out of breath can’t breathe right I don’t need her to be my therapy dog and then I pass out
I am an obese single person with a chronic illness I have severe depression and ptsd. My dog helps me stay active and cops with society. Please help me
I have PTSD and my dog gets me through flashbacks during the night and during the day when needed how do I get help to register thank you
I suffer with depression for many years now and since adopting my little Maltese x shitzu x Poodle. I feel alot calmer when she’s with me and less anxious I see a therapist but with my illness Fybromyalgia I find it hard to always cop a even with making an appointment. I really would like to register my dog asap thanks Sharon L Mahaffey
I ahve suffered for many years with depression and anxiety (i am currently on a vulnerable persons list) which leads me to spend a lot of time home alone which tends to make things worse, and so i have purchased a small dog to accompany me going to places which has been a great comfort to me, is it possible to register as a support dog as sometimes i may take my children ( who do not live with me) to certain places which feel daunting regardless of their presence but my dog has brougjt me a closer comfort.
I have a 4 year old husky. I have server depression, server anxiety and I suffer from PTSD. My dog helps me from going outside too stopping from me self harming and help me with my flash back.
I need to Register, my beautiful malteeze shitzu dog. who is7 yrs old now, I have in writting from my DR, that I have been with many years , who knows my health, very well. I am a Seniour lady. and through looking after my sick Husband, and other traumers, which my DR is aware of I developed high blood preasure, followed by Depression, and then Anxiety. I lost my Husband, nearly 2 yrs ago, since then on my own to deal with everything, has been very difficult. my dog is my only true friend, and spends 24/7 with me. I love this dog with all my heart, and due to my anxiety having gotten worse I take this dog with me every where I find if she is not with me my anxiety starts to take over. I have to rush to get back to her. I am a very honest person, old school. and I give my unconditional love ,to my dog which she gives back to me and then some. I also bought a speciel dog pusher, to take her with me. This is not some story but the truth. please let me know, I am very Gratefull. Barbara.
I am a transexual man. I am begging my transition. I came out to my manager last week. I work in a small department in a small office shared by four or five of us at a time. I have lived as a lesbian all my life. I have been at my job for five years. I try to keep to myself but then Im precieved as antisocial. They told me I was rude. So, I started talking about me and my wife. General conversation. Topics like food restaurants family pets movies. Then they are rude and ignore me or talk over me or interupt me. They make rude comments where I cant help but hear them because the office is so small. I have reported to my manager and HR. They say discrimination is hard to prove. I bet if I was a young feminin Caucasian christian female being harrassed by a lesbian or a man they would find all the proof they need. I work in misery every shift. Why not change jobs. I refuse to keep running from ignorance. It is useless. Its everywhere. We have not yet evolved to outrun hate. My dog loves me unconditionally. She brings me peace and joy. She is my home my sanctuary. I need her now more then ever. I wish she could be by my side all the time. She gives me courage.