Who Can Benefit?
WAG therapy dogs and their owners regularly visit a variety of establishments. These include most of the wards at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital, many residential and care homes, day centres and schools. Just stroking a friendly and kind dog can bring feelings of comfort and can reduce stress levels or anxiety. Often they can improve the quality of life for dementia sufferers, sometimes triggering long supressed emotions and memories. Young pupils in schools will often gain confidence reading aloud to a friendly dog and in other situations the animals have a calming influence on children with anxiety.
Health and Social Care service areas, private nursing nomes, day care centres and schools can ask us to provide WAG therapy dog visits.
Volunteers benefit too, often finding that experiencing the reaction of people interacting with their animals is very rewarding.
What's The Process?
Initially members of our committee will visit the establishment to discuss with the manager what a therapy visit will involve. We then identify the volunteer and animal who best suits the environment and people they will meet. Next we revisit the establishment to introduce the volunteer (without their dog) so that the volunteer is familiar with the surroundings when he or she begins visits with their animal.
Two assessors will accompany our volunteer with their dog on their first visit, to carry out a further assessment, ensuring that the dog is comfortable and settled in the new environment.
We ask that our volunteers are always accompanied by a member of staff during visits. However where vulnerable individuals could be unsupervised our volunteers will undergo a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check prior to carrying out visits.
Each establishment is asked to complete the request for a WAG dog therapy visit form prior to commencing visits.
Would you like more information?
We hope you are able to find what you’re looking for.
However, if you want more information about WAG and our practices, if you need help with the forms or have any other enquiries, please do not hesitate to get in touch.