Therapy Dog Programs

Welcome and thank you for your interest in volunteering with your dog in the Paws'itive Teams Therapy Dog Programs. We are excited and pleased about the differences our volunteers are making in the San Diego community. We have two therapy dog programs, each offering exciting, challenging and rewarding opportunities for you and your dog.

We focus on reaching out to the undeserved populations within San Diego County. One program, Personal Paws , has opportunities to participate in social visits with special clients throughout our area. In the other program, Pawsitive Animal Assisted Therapy (PAAT ), you and your dog work closely with a health care or education professional to improve the lives of our clients.

Paws'itive Teams offers comprehensive opportunities for you and your dog to be an active team, making a difference in our community. Through our Therapy Dog Programs, you are provided with everything that you need: leadership, training, certification, and being matched with a facility or client. Because of our unique, full service approach, you are able to focus on being a therapy team, which is fun and rewarding!

For more information about our programs, read the descriptions of the individual programs and follow the links to obtain additional information.

PAAT: [descriptionPAAT.pdf]
Personal Paws: [PP description volunteers.pdf]

After reading the introduction and pre-requisites below, we invite you to click on the link at the bottom to take you to the application form itself.

Prerequisites

• Handler must have completed the Paws'itive Teams Therapy Dog Prep School or have equivalent experiences as evaluated by the Reviewing Panel.
• Handler must complete a Therapy Dog Program Application and be approved by the Reviewing Panel. Therapy Dog Program Application Form
• Prior to certification, dog and handler teams are observed in three environments simulating real visits.
• Handler must be interested in and available to volunteer with at least one of our current current programs.
• Handler must participate in at least one observation visit, with or without dog, at the discretion of the Program Director.
• Minimum age of handler is 18 years old.
• All volunteers must complete a background check through Paws'itive Teams.
• Some facilities where we will be volunteering require handler health exams (i.e. TB Test) and background checks (i.e. fingerprinting).

Registration Procedure

• Complete Therapy Dog Program Application Form
• Receive approval and rating from the Reviewing Panel.
• Receive and review Therapy Dog Program Handbook.
• Review, complete and return all Registrations paperwork in Handbook.
• Successfully complete a background check
• Successfully complete a veterinary check.
• Complete site specific clearances as required by individual sites. These vary for each site, but could include background check, fingerprinting, drug testing or TB testing.

Maintaining Registration

Handler Requirements:

• Agree to a 6-month commitment with the PAAT Program.
• Complete program specific record keeping to document your visit.
• Complete a minimum of 24 hours volunteer time annually (includes travel time).
• Agree to use the Paws'itive Teams bandana on the dog ONLY during organized visits associated with Paws'itive Teams.
• Certification is effective for 1 year and will be renewed if the team meets all program requirements including the minimum volunteer hours and remains active within the organization
• Complete bi-annual team evaluation

Dog Requirements:

• Pass a physical examination upon entry into the program and for future years if requested by the Review Pane.
• Be free from parasites (internally and externally).
• Not have any open sores.
• Be bathed within a minimum of 3 days prior to a visit or at the discretion of the Team Leader.
• Successfully pass the Bi-annual Team Evaluation.

Therapy Dog Program Application Form Click to access the online application.