August and I initially heard about therapy certification in December 2011 when we saw 2 therapy dogs at Barnes and Noble, I first wrote about our desire to get Eloise therapy certified back in July, we took our first steps toward making that happen by going through training classes at Petco in August, we were making good progress in November, and Saturday night we had our first official outing at a restaurant.
August and I showed up early so Eloise could get out some of her nervous energy in the parking lot.
Once Tracy (the trainer and owner of Paws of Purpose) arrived it was time to get her vest to make it official and enter the restaurant. Our goal when we take Eloise into a restaurant is for people to be surprised when she comes out from under the table at the end of the meal. We’d like people’s reaction to be something along the lines of “holy crap, I had no idea there was a dog under there, she was so quiet!”.
For her first time ever being in a restaurant, with lots of delicious smells, crazy noises, and strange people, Eloise did pretty awesome. Of course, she tried to come out from under the table a few times but that’s to be expected for the first go-round. After dinner, August and I were so excited to be able to take Eloise where ever we go that we decided to take a quick stroll through Walmart just for fun.
You sure get a lot more attention when you’re walking through a store with a dog!
When it came to our Sunday errands of course we took Eloise with us. First we hit up Costco followed by the Verizon store.
The process of officially getting Eloise certified will take anywhere from 4 months to one year from this point depending on how diligent we are about taking her places and working with her in public. We have a lot of requirements to fulfill; taking her through a revolving door, taking her to a large event such as a wedding or birthday party, making a trip to the zoo or aquarium, having her ride on a boat or ferry, and many others. Basically our goal is to have Eloise encounter every possible scenario to make sure she’s comfortable in every environment. We even have our 2nd official outing scheduled in 2 weeks for a trip to see an IMAX movie.
This journey of getting Eloise therapy certified will be a long one but August and I are super excited and you’ll definitely be hearing about each step as we go along. So get ready for lots of pictures of dogs in places you’d never expect a dog to be, like a bowling alley. 
So adorable!!
Such a neat thing to do!
Thanks Sarah! We’re super excited!
How cool! I can’t wait to watch how your dog progresses with therapy training.
It’s going to be so fun! I can’t wait to take her to do things like the zoo and amusement park!
Elly is such a good girl!! Poor Duncan is going to be spending a lot of time home alone!!!
Duncan’s time will come soon enough!
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Therapy dogs do NOT have public access. You just posted pictures of your breaking the law. The only dogs that can be brought into non pet friendly places are service dogs. This means that the handler must be disabled and the dog must be specifically trained to mitigate the owner’s disability.
A therapy dog is a pet dog that is brought into hospitals, schools, nursing homes, etc WITH PERMISSION of the establishment to comfort people who are sick or have emotional difficulties.
Thanks for your comment. Until this morning I honestly did not know that we were not permitted into public locations as we have paperwork from our trainer that claims we were allowed and in fact we were required to take our dog into public for the certification. But since seeing these comments we have contacted Paws of Purpose and discontinued our training and will be finding a new group. Our goal all along was to reach a point where we could take our dog into hospitals and nursing homes to bring comfort to those in need and we hope to still do that.
You don’t have public access rights with a therapy dog, especially not in a business that serves food. “[T]he provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of [qualifying as a service dog].” 28 C.F.R. 36.104 so basically you’re violating health codes even if you got permission from the restaurant.
Therapy dogs aren’t supposed to be in restaurants and stores. Who is she providing therapy to in Walmart? I think you are confusing therapy dogs with service dogs. People with disabilities are permitted under the ADA to take service dogs into restaurants and stores. But therapy dogs are not service dogs. I’m shocked and appalled that a dog trainer doesn’t know the difference, but you are breaking the law by taking your dog into restaurants.
Hi Kelly. Thanks for your comment. We honestly did not know that we were breaking the law and we were under the impression that we were going through therapy certification with a knowledgeable and reputable trainer. Since seeing your comments we have stopped training through Paws of Purpose and will be searching for a different service company as our goal all along was simply to have our dog therapy certified so we could take her into hospitals and nursing homes.
Hi Kristen. Thanks for the information. We certainly did not intend to violate any health codes. We went through training at Petco and signed up for “therapy certification” through what we thought was a knowledgeable and reputable dog trainer. Since these comments this morning we have contacted the trainer and asked for a refund. We’ll be looking for a new therapy service in San Antonio as our goal all along was to have our dog provide comfort to children and adults in need.
Reputable therapy dog programs include:
http://petpartners.org/
http://therapydogs.com/
http://www.loveonaleash.org/
They’ll help you get the job done right, and even offer liability insurance for their members, which makes them more attractive to hospitals as therapy dog team visitors.
Thanks so much. Those links are very helpful and I really appreciate it.
Thank you for having the Honor, Character, and Integrity to take corrective action once you had been advised of the errors made. It is rare these days to see someone admit they were wrong and then take action to correct. You have our gratitude. Signed, the husband of a blind woman who uses a guide dog and a guide dog puppy raiser.
I’m sorry you were misled by Paws with a Purpose. I hope they do refund your money. You might even want to report them to the Better Business Bureau. Kirsten gave you some links to programs that legitimately certify therapy dogs, and they offer nice benefits, too, like insurance for members. Good luck. Your dog sounds like she’ll make a great therapy dog.
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