Volunteer

Volunteering as a therapy dog team is a very rewarding experience and a great way to give back in your community.

In order to faithfully deliver on our mission to bring comfort, reduce stress, and support emotional well-being through animal assisted interventions with certified therapy dog teams, we look for the following traits in potential teams.

What we look for in a potential therapy dog:

• At least one year old, spayed or neutered, and up-to-date on vaccinations.

• Friendly and social, with a gentle nature. 

• Enjoys being around people of all ages and abilities, including strangers.

• Does not jump or bark excessively, and is not mouthy.

• Calm and patient, even under stress and in new situations and environments.

• Reliably well-behaved with good manners and solid basic obedience skills (sit, down, stay, come, leave it, loose-leash walking) on a flat buckle collar or well-fitting harness.

• Welcomes lots of petting, even exuberant petting from multiple people simultaneously.

• Neutral temperament around other animals.

• Strong and positive bond with handler/owner.

• Is not on a raw food diet.

What we look for in a potential therapy dog handler:

• Be at least 18 years old. 

• Have a strong positive bond with their dog.

• Own and have lived with their dog a minimum of four (preferably six) months.

• Not use corrective devices (e.g., pinch collars, e-collars, choke chains) on their dog.

• Be compassionate and committed to volunteering in and close to their community.

• Maintain excellent hygiene, grooming, and veterinary care of their dog.

• Be willing to adhere to all Therapy Dog Brigade training and certification requirements.

• Be committed to the health and well-being of their dog.

• Be a warm and friendly person who enjoys meeting and engaging with people.

Would you like to learn more? Please review our process to get acquainted with how one becomes a volunteer certified therapy dog team.