PRESS RELEASE

ELITE THERAPY DOG PROGRAM

“The only program of its kind in Canada”

 MSAR is putting out a call for people and dogs to volunteer to join the Elite Therapy Dog Program. Currently MSAR has 47 trained Elite Therapy Dogs and need an additional 50 to expand and meet public demand. 

 Contact: 

George Leonard – Certified Master Dog Trainer 

777-0553 

  CLOAKING

Part 1 – What is a Therapy Dog?

Part 2 - Program and History

 Part 1. What is a Therapy Dog?

A Therapy Dog, by definition is a dog whose function is to help people, primarily in emotional ways, although physical benefits have also been noted by raising morale for physical therapy as well as self-care tasks. 

 The term Therapy applies to the dog’s visit to a health care facility, or a reclusive patient that receive home visits.  Other terms used to describe a Therapy K-9 are animal assisted therapy, animal assisted activities and pet therapy. All are the commonly used terms, which basically all mean the same thing: a dog providing emotional support to a person.  

 Benefits related to Therapy dogs facility visits vary and include:

Therapy dogs use their social instincts and learned social skills to bring people emotional benefits.  We have firsthand experience dealing with this – Maxx Power (our lead Elite Therapy Dog) works exclusively with reclusive or emotionally traumatized children and adults. 

An example (Maxx Power and handler George Leonard) case was one of a young girl who had recently lost her mother to cancer and she had completely withdrawn into a world of silence and depression.  We received a call from her father stating that he heard about this Therapy Dog and if we could come and visit. Maxx and George arrived and asked the girl if she would watch my dog while her dad and George spoke in the kitchen; for hours she simply sat and ignored Maxx.  Maxx tried to get her attention but she wanted nothing to do with Maxx. So Maxx quietly waited and sat beside her.  This went on for a week and then she finally reacted to Maxx’s attempts for attention.  She began patting and speaking to the dog and then Maxx would lie on her lap and they would watch TV and talk.  The girl would now have something to take care of and to distract her from her own pain.  And while the girl was taking care of Maxx she was preparing herself to move to the next step of talking to a councillor – and Maxx was that bridge to get there by providing an opportunity for the girl to hug, talk and play with something that won’t judge her or press for information on her feeling.  Maxx simply provided unconditional acceptance and love.  The girl worked with Maxx at her house for three weeks and we have since gotten her own dog, which we helped choose and train for family life and they both are doing well. 

·        Clients that have Alzheimer’s or their thought wonder; the dog can provide a focus point for them to come back to the here and now.  This focal point effect can be extended to include kids with learning difficulties and attention deficit.  The dog provides this level for the child to concentrate, and as this concentration is increased the level of concentration can increase and provide the child with the tool to increase his/her learning.

·        Morale increases in the facility during and after the visit of a Therapy dog.

·        Depression can be overwhelming for some people and a therapy dog can provide relief.

·        Therapy dogs provide a better sense of cooperation within the facility; people are happy and even anticipate their visits.  The visit increases morale and promotes social interaction.  Your presence with the dog will increase communication within the facility.  People will talk to you and talk about your dog and keep talking after you leave.  The social stimulation is increased because people will come out of their room to see you and the dog, thus communication between staff, other patients and everyone in general will increase.

·        Some people in care homes do not have external sources of affection from relatives and some people are not comfortable hugging strangers and sometimes feel awkward.  But with a dog this is eliminated as the dog is present to be touched, hugged, kissed, patted, lied with, which obviously brings enjoyment which leads to more touching and an even greater benefit

.·        Working with a licensed therapists; the dog can work in partnership at some of the therapy treatments, the road to recovery can be long and painful but a dog can help alleviate this discomfort and be incorporated into the rehabilitation program as seen fit by the therapist.

·        Staff and family of the patient also benefit from regular Therapy visits, by spending a few minutes with the staff as well helps create a greater bond and includes the entire working staff with the program – thus obviously aids the patient. 

 Part 2. Program and HistoryThe entire program started because of one dog - Maxx Power. 

 Maxx was adopted after a near death experience with a car that left her with 11 broken bones, punctured lung and clinging to life.  Luckily in the next vehicle was a veterinarian from Oak bank, who saved her live.  Maxx’s injuries were so severe she had to be transported to Saskatchewan to the veterinarian hospital for treatment. 

 It took 6 months for Maxx to recover from her injuries, 3 of the months she was carried around like luggage by her owner (George Leonard) because she was unable to place any weight on her front legs while on the mend.  During this healing phase Maxx needed special attention and the owner noticed that Maxx would crave interaction due to her limited mobility.  George thought that there would be some benefit to this dog wanting to give and receive affection so after some research and development he developed the current Elite K-9 Therapy Dog Program. 

 The program was tested and modified on Maxx Power to ensure its success and has now become the largest certified Therapy Dog Program in Canada. Maxx Power is also the only dog to score 100% on the final exam to graduate from the program.   Maxx has worked with autistic children, post traumatic children, seniors and her many clients from Meals on Wheels. Maxx is near retirement and her last case load is with the soldiers returning from overseas duties - Maxx Power is very special dog and loved by all her friends, she has been described as being as gentle looking as a baby deer. 

    Where do current Elite Therapy Dogs Work

 ***NEW Part of the Program*** Soldiers (post traumatic stress disorder)

Returning veterans may suffer from post traumatic stress and MSAR has been working with returning soldiers to deal with this issue.  Currently we have 4 dogs working exclusively with the clients – the lead dog is Maxx Power.

Elderly / Shut-ins

In partnership with Meals on Wheels, Age and Opportunity and the Veterans Association we will be offering visitation to willing clients.  These clients will be served at their place of residence or within a home-care facility. 

Children

In partnership with local hospitals, schools and group homes our agency will be send a volunteer to provide in-house visitation. 

No-bite

Manitoba Rural Search & Rescue also helps in partnership with other agencies and offers the no bite program.  A program to provide awareness for children on how to react and avoid negative confrontations with dogs.  We use Stinky a very large Rottweiler as the leads with this program.  Many children grow up with limited exposure to dogs and thus relate poorly to them later in life.  Early socialization, about the age of six, with dogs as well as education provides children a platform to learn the best behaviours of a dog without being knocked over or bitten.  The proper environment of a trained

Therapy dog and a good handler provide this opportunity for children, as well as children with disabilities who may need an assistance dog later in life. This positive interaction helps build a strong bond with a dog and gives the child a chance to learn a dog’s body language and basic behaviours within a controlled setting. 

Victims of Crime

A volunteer and dog (or just the dog) will visit a victim of crime to offer aid and comfort through our therapy program. Our agency has identified possible clients as home invasion victims, seniors and child who have been victims of abuse. 

Training and Qualifications

Dogs:

·        Receive a one year program with a three probationary period.

·        Current on all shots and vaccinations.

·        Well groomed and clean.

·        Hold current license issued by the city.

·        Dogs allowed:

             o   Please note that due to city bylaws (Winnipeg) we are unable to accept American Pit bulls, Pit bulls, Stafford Shire Terriers or any cross of these dogs.  We currently have Pit Bull service dogs (in the rural area) and they are extremely great animals however the law must be observed and therefore within city limits these dogs are currently banned.

Volunteers:

·        Pass a criminal background check.

·        Pass a child abuse registry check.

·        Graduate from the one year training program and have a valid membership in our Association.

·        Hold current standard first aid and CPR training. 

   Course Content

·        Six month obedience course / six month therapy course

·        Conditioning The Dog To Handling – this teaches the handler and dog to be use to touching at any time of the session – this is extremely important for a therapy dog to be tolerant of hands on experience.

·        Basic and Advanced Obedience -teaches the dog and handler basic commands and obedience for basic handling.

·        Social Skills For Handler and The Dog – teaches the dog and handler to develop proper social skills for the team to properly act in public without distraction

.·        Training The Handler – teaches the handler to interact with many types of situations related to Therapy work and identify and clearly outlines their role in the Therapy process.

·        Putting It All Together – teaches how to put all the modules together and commences the advanced testing process.  The handler also learns K9 First Aid and Standard First Aid and Standard CPR. 

There is no other standardized training program and system available for Therapy Dog work.  Our program meets the growing need for adequate training and support for volunteers to donate their time towards this worthy cause.  No other Therapy program operating in Canada let alone Manitoba offers a complete 1 year training program that also includes such safety measures as training our volunteers in standard first aid and CPR with the bonus course of K-9 first aid.  All our volunteers and dogs must complete and pass the 1 year course with a score of no less than 85% and then proceed to a three month probationary period of assessments.  The volunteer and dog are also randomly retested to ensure they meet current standards.