Are you a clinician and keen to find out more about therapy dogs?

What do I need to know about how the placement of a therapy dog works?

If you are a clinician and think that a therapy dog could be beneficial to your clients then here is some useful information:

• You would need to adopt the dog on a permanent basis and it would live with, and be cared for by you.
• The dog you receive would be a fully trained Mobility Dog that is best suited to working in a therapy environment due to its calm demeanour.
• The dog would be able to work only a few days a week. The dog is not capable of working a 40 hr week like a human.
• You would need approval from the management team at your place of work that a therapy dog is allowed onsite to work.
• The cost of placing a therapy dog in Auckland costs $5,000. This cost goes towards covering some of the training costs associated with the dog.
• The cost of placing a therapy dog outside of Auckland will be $5,000 + additional travel related expenses and will be assessed on a case by case basis.
• For a dog to be placed, a Mobility Dogs senior trainer will need to come and teach you the dog’s skills in order for its training to be fully maximised.
• The dog would work with you, the clinician, in a manner you feel is appropriate for your clients.