Do you have a very good boy or girl in your family?
The St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program is putting out the feelers for new potential dogs to join their team. They hold orientation and information meetings twice a year, and are already gearing up for their September meetings for Abbotsford/Mission, and Chilliwack/Hope.
They like people to have plenty of information before attending the meetings, and now is the time to start deciding if your dog would be a good fit and start the application process.
Therapy dogs with St. John Ambulance visit community hospitals, seniors’ homes, schools, the University of the Fraser Valley, treatment centres and six of the local federal institutions. They also take part in various special events in the community.
Therapy dogs visited vaccination clinics in the spring to help ease the experience for those who were nervous, and they lent a paw at the evacuation centre in Abbotsford when the floods hit the Sumas Prairie.
And they have a little fun, too, taking part in events like the Canada Day parade in Abbotsford, through Paws on the Pavement (when it’s not too hot).
St. John Ambulance is a charitable organization, and their members and their furry partners give their time freely as volunteers.
“We continue to have more and more requests come in for a SJA Therapy Dog visitation and in that regard are in much need of more community volunteers participating in this rewarding and simply delightful volunteering role,” says Barbara Renkers, therapy dog unit facilitator. “There are requirements and responsibilities – and we have all of that information ready to share with interested parties.”
For more information, contact Renkers at 604-859-7909 or email AbbotsfordTDP@SJABCY.ca.
READ MORE: St. John Ambulance Therapy dogs soothe nerves while working at Abbotsford COVID clinic
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