Photos Copyright 2009, OPUBCO Communications Group

New Leash On Life, Inc. trains volunteers and their pets to become Certified Therapy Dog teams and serve as ambassadors of love and good cheer – visiting nursing homes, assisted living centers, hospitals and schools.

 A simple touch of a soft head or a wagging tail can bring smiles, comfort and sweet memories to people whose world has become very small and often lonely.  

Just the presence of a Therapy Dog in a reading circle creates calm and lessens anxiety as children read aloud to an attentive listener, who has been trained to “look and listen”. Therapy Dogs never judge, criticize or laugh at their mistakes.  New Leash has a reading to dogs program at  two elementary schools in Deer Creek Public Schools and works with English Language Learners at Taft Middle School in Oklahoma City. 

And Therapy Dogs are great assistants in the rehabilitation setting, providing motivation to adults and children who seem to forget the difficulty of their task when they interact with a dog who is eagerly awaiting their touch, their toss of a ball or a walk down the hall.  


How to become a Therapy Dog Team

To become a Therapy Dog, pets must first have basic obedience skills and enjoy being petted and in social situations.  Volunteers and their pets are then eligible for the six-week New Leash Therapy Dog training, which culminates in certification.

New Leash on Life’s Therapy Dog Program starts newly certified teams at the beginning level (Level One) of Therapy Dog work where they visit assisted living centers.  Residents, who are often in wheelchairs, eagerly await these visits, which take place in an open setting. The volunteer positions the dog for petting so the resident can experience the therapeutic touch and connection with the dog.  

When the team is ready, they move to the second level of Therapy Dog visits. These take place in smaller spaces, such as a private room, where the patient can pet, handle the dog or brush its coat.

The third level or advanced Therapy Dog work takes place in clinical hospital or rehabilitation settings with therapists and their patients on a one-on-one basis on goal-oriented therapy. The dogs help motivate patients to work longer and harder with the therapists.

Contact us today if you and your dog would like to become a New Leash on Life Therapy Dog Team.