Therapy training and certification

Noah and I completed our pet therapy training and certification today. We had a training session to go over pet therapy basics and to practice a visit. We will be volunteering in the physical therapy department at a local senior assisted living facility. We had training at this facility for about 2 hours and then spent another hour meeting the staff and residents and learning how Noah will assist the staff in PT. Noah was a huge hit. Everyone loved him. It is amazing how a person's face lights up when they see an animal. Residents who looked less than thrilled while walking down the hallway immediately perked up and smiled when they saw him. People were very curious to know what type of dog he is and I'm pretty sure most of the residents had never seen a goldendoodle, and certainly not a miniature goldendoodle. Everyone marveled about how beautiful he is, how much he looks like a teddy bear, and what a beautiful coat color he has.

Noah is not at all phased by medical equipment. He has not really been exposed to it, but he does not shy away from people with walkers, in wheelchairs, or with tubes hooked up to them. It's truly amazing how he sees right past a person's disabilities or differences and sees them as wonderful person. He was just so happy to be there and so thrilled with all of the attention that he received. When we went into the physical therapy room, a group of residents were doing various physical exercises. They had heard that we were in the building and had been waiting for 2 hours for us to make an appearance. They were all so excited. A few of the residents were not very responsive, but you could see their faces light up when Noah went near them. Noah gets very excited when he first greets someone, but then calms down almost instantly. He likes to greet everyone, but doesn't spend too much time with just one person. He likes to go from person to person and then he chooses a spot to lay down near the people. I think this will be the perfect venue for Noah's pet therapy since he will be kept busy helping all of the people in PT and won't get restless. We are so excited to start volunteering and making this a weekly activity!!!

Noah's PAWS certificate