Plans for Spring

This is the new golden I am training for next year. Her name is Miller and she is so sweet, energetic, curious, and exhausting. Aubie has not adjusted to having a little sister. Her energy level is just too high.

Lots of plans are being made for the pet assisted therapy (PAT) program at Auburn University for spring. I hope to have a speaker from Canine Assistants of Atlanta to speak in January. Check out their website - they are awesome. I have completed Pet Partners Seminar, Therapy Dogs Inc. testing and observations, and Reading Education Assitant Dog (READ) training. I will complete the READ observations in January. Aubie and I are a registered therapy team and will soon be a READ Team. I will be attending a three-day seminar in Febuary and try to learn more about human-animal interaction. In April I will be traveling to Salt Lake City, Utah to visit with the Executive Director of Intermountain Therapy Dogs to look at the structures of their programs and to discuss the international aspects of PAT.

I would like to thank Melissa Saul for her help to get much of this accomplished. She has dedicated so much time to Animal Assisted Therapy and her love for animals and people of all ages is a great example of what a person can do. This is a picture of her and her dog Gina (on right) and her friend Tina and her dog at the READing Paws training in Newnan, GA. Aubie and I visited with Melissa at a nursing home in Newnan and it was such great fun.
During fall finals Aubie visited with nursing students before finals to relieve tension. It is always amazing to watch the smiles when a happy little dog walks in. The results are instant and obvious. Aubie loves his new role as therapy dog. The possibilities for this program are endless.

This is the group that completed the Pet Partners Training in Atlanta back in August. Melissa also helped to teach that class. This was great fun and I learned so much.