Pet Prescription Team

The Pet Prescription Team offers an 8-week therapy dog training program, which may extend longer based on the team’s progress. Classes are conducted weekly on various days and times in actual healthcare/assisted care facilities in Los Angeles and San Diego counties. This hands-on approach prepares both the dog and volunteer for real-world visitation environments.

Prior to enrollment, dogs need to be socialized to new people, places, and things, and have mastered basic obedience commands such as sit, down, stay, come, watch me, loose leash walking, and leave it. They must also have control over behaviors like jumping, licking, or pawing. The class curriculum includes meeting and greeting exercises, familiarization with hospital equipment (walkers, wheelchairs, oxygen tanks, IV push carts, bed visitations), hospital environment policies and procedures, safe dog-handling instruction (including infection control, confidentiality, and HIPAA protocol), confined area workspace techniques, and confidence-building for both volunteer and dog.

Upon successful completion of the class and evaluations, the Pet Prescription Team certifies, insures, and assigns the dog and handler to facilities in their area. New volunteers are accompanied by a Pet Prescription Team leader for support.

Pricing Summary

The 8-week therapy dog training class costs $175. Upon completion and passing evaluations, there is an additional $85 fee for certification, the first year of Pet Prescription Team membership, and a therapy vest. Annual membership dues are required for continued membership. For volunteers with multiple dogs, payment is required for each dog insured by the Pet Prescription Team. Similarly, each person handling a dog in facilities must be insured through the organization.

Policies

Membership dues are required annually for continued membership. For orders of trading cards, a processing time of 4-5 weeks should be allowed. No specific cancellation or rescheduling policies for training classes are mentioned.

The Pet Prescription Team is a non-profit 501c3 organization founded in 2003 by Krystal Emery, dedicated to enhancing quality of life through the human-animal bond. They are an all-volunteer certified therapy dog organization that provides love, comfort, and healing through therapy animals. They are recognized by the American Kennel Club as a therapy dog certification organization.

They offer 8-week therapy dog training classes in Los Angeles and San Diego counties. These classes are unique as they are held inside actual healthcare/assisted care facilities, providing hands-on training in real-world environments. The training prepares pet owners and their family pets for therapy visitations, covering topics like meeting and greeting exercises, familiarization with hospital equipment, and facility policies.

The Pet Prescription Team certifies, insures, and assigns dog and handler teams to various facilities within their geographical area. They also provide ongoing support by assigning a team leader to each new volunteer. Their mission is to spread compassion and healing, having documented over 100,000 visitations and partnered with numerous organizations including Ronald McDonald House, Los Angeles County Jails, and schools.

Accomplishments

Founded in 2003 by Krystal Emery, the Pet Prescription Team has accumulated 21 years of experience in animal-assisted therapy, documenting over 100,000 visitations. They are recognized by the American Kennel Club as a therapy dog certification organization and help members attain AKC Therapy Dog titles and Canine Good Citizen titles.

The organization has partnered with notable entities such as Ronald McDonald House, Los Angeles County Jails, Orange County Jails, and the United States Attorney General offices. Their impactful projects include the Faith Dog Project (2008), HBIC (Help for Brain Injured Children Program, 2009), Kaiser Los Angeles (2009), Kaiser Downey (2010), There’s No Place Like Home (2012), CAC (Children’s Advocacy Center for Child Abuse Assessment, 2015), Ontario Airport Comfort Dog Program (2014), Los Angeles County Sheriff Human Trafficking Task Force (2016), Los Angeles County Twin Towers Jail (2016), Los Angeles County Juvenile Hall (2017), and Disneyland Wellness Program (2022). The Pet Prescription Team has also been featured in the media, including California News Wire Services and NBC Los Angeles, for their work with human trafficking victims and inmates.

How to Get Started!

To begin, prospective volunteers and their dogs should first master prerequisite behaviors, including extensive socialization and basic obedience commands such as sit, down, stay, come, watch me, loose leash walking, and leave it, along with control over jumping, licking, or pawing. Once these prerequisites are met, individuals can contact the Pet Prescription Team for more information or to register for a therapy dog training class. An information request form is available on their website for inquiries.