Therapy Dogs of Rockland

The process to become a Therapy Dogs of Rockland team involves six steps. Step 1 is a free 20-30 minute Pre-Qualifying Screening interview to determine suitability. Step 2 is a full-day (9:00 AM – 4:00 PM) Basic Team Training Workshop for humans only, costing $110, providing foundational information for successful visits. Step 3 is a 30-40 minute Team Evaluation for both handler and dog, costing $35, assessing skills, temperament, relationship strength, social interactions, and advocacy. Step 4 requires a Veterinary Health Screening for the dog after passing evaluation, with forms supplied by the organization. Step 5 involves submitting a packet to Intermountain Therapy Animals (ITA), including an open-book manual test, to be completed within 30 days of evaluation; ITA membership costs $90 for 2 years and includes liability insurance. Step 6 is a Volunteer Orientation where teams learn procedures for working with patients and medical equipment, and observe experienced teams. Additionally, they offer a R.E.A.D.® Training Workshop for registered therapy dog teams interested in visiting schools and libraries as reading companions for children.

Pricing Summary

The Pre-Qualifying Screening is free. The Basic Team Training Workshop costs $110. The Team Evaluation costs $35. ITA membership is $90 for 2 years, which includes $2 million liability insurance per team. Veterinary health screening costs are TBD by the individual’s vet.

Therapy Dogs of Rockland is an entirely volunteer-based, not-for-profit organization and a proud affiliate of Intermountain Therapy Animals. They specialize in training and registering therapy dog teams to provide comfort and healing through human-animal companionship. Their mission is to help people heal, children learn, and bring joy to everyone.

Their registered teams regularly visit hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, schools, and libraries. They also run the Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.®) Program, where children read to dogs to improve their reading skills and comprehension in a calming, non-judgmental environment.

The organization offers a structured program for individuals and their dogs to become certified therapy dog teams. This includes a pre-qualifying screening, a full-day basic team training workshop for humans, a team evaluation for both handler and dog, veterinary health screening, and a volunteer orientation. They mentor new teams in choosing comfortable visiting facilities.

Accomplishments

Therapy Dogs of Rockland is a proud affiliate of Intermountain Therapy Animals. Its Executive Co-Directors and Co-Founders, Candace Robinson and George Berger, are both I.T.A. Instructors & Evaluators and R.E.A.D.® Instructors. Other team members also serve as I.T.A. Evaluators.

How to Get Started!

To begin the process of becoming a Therapy Dogs of Rockland team, interested individuals should contact Candace at crobin137@icloud.com to schedule a Pre-Qualifying Interview. This initial interview is an opportunity for prospective team members to ask questions and for the organization to make an initial determination of suitability for therapy dog work.