Our friends over at Dog Furiendly have been working with Pets as Therapy recently, and asked us to write up a little article about the process. I've realised that we never really shared the end-to-end with you all, so for something a little different, and hopefully interesting, this was what we had to say!
After years of being
told that Missy had a perfect temperament for it, we took the plunge at the
start of this year and had her assessed as a therapy dog.
So, who are Pets as
Therapy?
Pets As Therapy (PAT) is a national charity that send volunteers and
their pets to visit care homes, hospitals, hospices, schools and prisons. Their
aim is to simply bring smiles to many faces and give people of all ages a
chance to chat to someone — and stroke and cuddle a friendly dog or
cat.
Who can apply?
Anyone can apply, so long as our pet is at least nine months old, and
you must have known them for at least six months. They are looking V for
volunteers of all ages and walks of life. PAT Pets should be friendly and calm,
healthy and well-groomed, and love being fussed over. Breed doesn't matter,
with mutts just as welcome as pedigrees.
It should be noted (at the time of writing) that PAT will not take dogs
that are raw fed, owing to the poor health of a lot of the people being
visited.
Signing up
We knew from friends
and relations that they operated in our area, so we went ahead and sent in our
application, which is all done online.
There are two types
of membership, a solo volunteer or a joint volunteer account. For the humans,
two different references are required per person volunteering, passport style
photos, and there is also an annual volunteer contribution (payable once the
assessment has been completed and passed). For the dogs, proof of up-to-date
vaccinations are required as well as assurances that your dog is fit and
healthy with a note of any medication your pet is on. For example, Missy is on antihistamines,
owing to both a dairy and an environmental allergy. Lastly, we had to take Missy’s
"passport" photo:
The Assessment
Once our application
had been processed, we were granted an online account to track our progress.
The first step was the assessment.
Using our postcode,
we were assigned to the nearest assessor and made contact. As covid was very
much a concern at the start of the year, we had scheduled to do an outdoor
assessment at a mutually agreeable location. Of course, it decided to both snow
and rain on us that day and so, masks on, we relocated to an indoors location.
Both dog and owner
are assessed, so Missy got to do it twice as my husband also wanted to
volunteer.
So, what is involved
in an assessment?
During the 45
minutes, the following must be demonstrated:
Walking on a relaxed
lead, without excessive pulling and without the use of head collars, harnesses
or check chains. At the same time, the owner must demonstrate control of
their dog on the lead whilst holding a conversation with the assessor.
The dog must be
comfortable being stroked and handled and having their paws, tail and ears
checked by both the owner and the assessor.
The dog must be well
groomed with short nails. They must also take a food treat gently without
snatching from the assessor.
The dog must also
display an appropriate response to a sudden noise or disturbance in the room
whilst being tested.
Lastly, the owner
must demonstrate that they can restrict their dog by holding its collar or
holding him/her firmly and remove them from the room.
What behaviours will
result in a deferral?
Jumping up
Pawing, or putting
paws up
Pulling on the lead
Reluctance/backing
away when being fussed
Vocalisations, such
as barking or growling
Mouthing
Licking
Taking food greedily
It sounds a lot to
cover in a short space of time, but the assessor was great at keeping all of us
at ease and explaining simply what we had to do and why. Missy aced the lead
walking and disturbance test (simply lying and the floor and looking rather
perplexed at why the bottle full of treats had been thrown upon the floor). She
allowed us to swiftly (and unexpectedly on her part) remove her from the room
(I led her out whilst my husband showed off and simply carried her out the
room).
There was only one
area I wasn't sure on - Missy’s absolute apathy about being handled. She'll
very gently take her paw back once she's determined you've held onto it for
long enough and will simply stand there stoically whilst being brushed. Such
indifference proved to be a laughing point with the assessor, who claimed to
have never met a dog so passively disinterested in being groomed.
We had a chat about
what sort of volunteering we were interested in. I explained that we know from
experience that Missy likes to snuggle up to the knees of the elderly and be
petted, so we were leaning towards care home visits over classrooms, which we
felt would be too over whelming for Missy. Our comments were met with nods, so
there was clearly a box there that was ticked that we didn't know about.
After that, all three
of us were handed our proverbial gold stars and we were told we had passed the
assessment with flying colours.
Visits
Once the assessment
is processed, and the references supplied at the start have been received, you
receive your welcome pack. All three of us received our ID batches and the
paperwork explaining that we were approved by PAT. Then it was time to organise
a visit.
Whilst occasionally
there will be an email sent from the area coordinator asking for volunteers for
a specific event, your mostly left to organise things for yourself. From your
postcode, you'll get a list of what's available in the area and from there you
just email/call and organise something that’s mutually convenient.
I will stress two
things here:
One, you are under no
obligation to purchase any of the PAT uniform for yourself or the dog. We
haven't bought anything (if your representing PAT at an event you can borrow a
uniform). Although I will confess the little dog vest is calling out to
me!
Two, it's entirely
down to what suits you - you can visit places as often or as little as you
want. And if somewhere didn't feel right, you’re under no obligation to go
back. The only rule is that visits should not exceed 2 hours without a break
for the dog.
The area rep also
gave me a really good piece of advice: bring your own treats, and pretend the
dog has allergies, otherwise people will try and fees them all sorts of things
they shouldn't.
So, where have we
visited? Covid put us to a rocky start, but we have stuck with the original
plan of care homes. Each visit has had at least one stand out moment for us,
but our first is probably my favourite:
On our first visit,
we were a bit unsure about the process as we were mostly met with "oh, a
dog, very nice, there, there". It just didn't feel particularly rewarding.
That was until we met a very elderly lady who was stone deaf. She was absently
watching the TV and, upon spotting Missy, just came to life. There was a
delighted cry as she moved with a speed I did not expect and bodily hugged
Missy. There was laughter and tears and many treats given. The staff explained
that she had grown up in a farm and absolutely loved dogs. The visit only went
up from there as we met a gentleman who used to breed greyhounds and multiple
other characters who were happy to share stories whilst fawning over
Missy.
Is it worth it?
For myself and my
husband, it's been a very rewarding experience. Firstly, we like people. We
like talking to people and helping out where we can. So, this kind of
volunteering is naturally really rewarding for us.
However, we're also
ridiculously busy people, and the flexibility has allowed us to fit in
volunteering when it suits us. And that's been absolutely brilliant. I don't
feel I'm letting anyone down or having to fit things in when it doesn't suit.
Which makes me enjoy the visits more.
Lastly, we did get
the opportunity to meet some other local PAT volunteers at Dogfest as we helped
out at the stand. They were all lovely people, and we are very much looking
forward to getting to know the community better!
And what about Missy?
As far as we can tell, she loves it. She drags us out the car and to the
nursing home doors and wags her tail for the residents. Cuddles, treats and
much praise are reward enough for her.
To find out more
about PAT, including testimonials and how to volunteer, check out their website
at: Pets as Therapy
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