Starting Therapy Work

Today was Theo and I's first day volunteering at Mayo Clinic as a therapy team this summer!  I have been training Theo for fun since I adopted him over three years ago, but in the summer of 2018, I decided we should take it a step further.  I got into contact with a trainer who offers certifications through Therapy Dogs International (TDI) and found out we would have to get our Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certification before we could move on to the TDI test.  I was confident we could pass our CGC right away, so we took the test and passed with flying colors.  Theo and I then signed up for the four week Therapy Dog class.  We had a blast getting to know all the other students (both human and dog alike), and the four weeks flew by.  We took our test with TDI and passed again!

Unfortunately, by the time we got done with the class, there wasn't much time left until I had to leave for college again, so I didn't get to sign up for any consistent volunteer work.  When I went home this past J-term though, I made sure to get everything taken care of that I needed to, so Theo and I could volunteer at Mayo the whole summer this year!  It still won't be a super long summer since I am leaving for school at the end of July, but hopefully we can bring smiles to lots of faces in the next couple months.  We will be spending an hour and a half every Wednesday and Thursday afternoon doing therapy work, so we have plenty of time to do just that!

Our first day went very smoothly.  Theo loved all the attention and behaved pretty well.  I was worried that he may have turned into a little stinker while I was away at school, but he did a great job!  The most common question I was asked was, "What kind of dog is he?"  I replied, "He's a rescue, the best kind.  I call him a supermutt."  We spent most of our time in the cancer center, but we also stopped by a couple of the staff offices as well and showed off his trick "say your prayers" which turned out to be a big hit.  We spent a little over an hour doing visits then I went to meet with someone (who is the handler of Mayo Clinic's facility dog) about a presentation on assistance dogs that we are planning for the end of June.  Theo must have been tuckered out by this point because he napped right through the meeting.

It was a really exciting day, and I am looking forward to being able to bring joy into people's lives and see the smiles on their faces.  Dogs can do amazing things, and I am so proud of Theo for being able to help people in this way.  My heart is happy seeing people smile when they see him.  Day two of volunteering is tomorrow.  Theo is sleeping right now to prepare for another fun filled day!  Until next time, stay pawsome!