MKC’s Therapy
Certification Program
We are pleased to offer a new therapy dog seminar and
certification program.
Working under the guidelines of Therapy Dogs Incorporated, we require an
obedience evaluation prior to being accepted into the program. After this
initial assessment, dog and handler teams attend a working seminar that covers visitation
etiquette, offers handling tips on such behaviors as ‘leave it’ and introduces
the dogs to hospital equipment. Visits to three different care facilities are
scheduled and a TDInc certified evaluator accompanies the teams on these
visits. The evaluator determines the teams’ final certification after
witnessing these actual visits.
Dogs must be one year of age. We strongly encourage
interested teams to take at least one obedience class with us before attempting
to be certified. The current MKC obedience schedule can be found here.
Our next therapy program will begin with the obedience
evaluation August 10 and the working seminar is scheduled on August 15th. To obtain your TDInc certification, you must
also attend the scheduled therapy visits. This schedule will be announced soon.
Cost for this program is $45.00.
Please contact Donna
Hartman or Bruce
Felton for more information.
If your dog is already certified for therapy visits, the
Mountaineer Kennel Club maintains a monthly schedule of visits to Morgantown
area nursing and care facilities. Several of our members and their certified
dogs also have standing visitation schedules at care facilities in some of our
neighboring towns. Contact Donna Hartman
for a copy of these schedules.