Therapy Dogs in Schools Protocol

Introduction

Therapy dogs are interactive dogs trained to work for a Handler to provide service and comfort to people. The presence of a therapy dog can decrease anxiety and provide a level of comfort that enables students to work through a variety of challenging issues. Their responsibilities are to provide psychological or physiological therapy to individuals other than their Handlers. It is important to note that therapy dogs are not service dogs. Service dogs are trained to perform tasks to ease their handlers’ disabilities, helping them to attain safety and independence.

Documents

• P.13 Therapy Dogs in Schools Protocol

First adopted: November 2017, April 2018