Therapy dogs can provide both emotional and physical health benefits and one such pup, Pierre, is in the studio to meet The Doctors! Pierre’s owner Matt discusses the life of a therapy dog.
Watch: Meet Sancho the Therapy Dog
Matt says they volunteer at Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA and at Los Angeles International Airport. To become a certified therapy dog, Matt had to go through an online course and Pierre and Matt had to take a temperament test. A mock hospital situation was set up to see how Pierre would react. “He’s just mellow,” Matt says, which makes Pierre perfect for the job!
Watch: How Do Canine Comfort Dogs Help Patients?
Matt explains if a dog makes a good therapy animal has a lot to do with how they are wired and says they can’t really be trained if they don’t have it. Matt also discusses with plastic surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon how people often take advantage of calling their dog a service dog so they can fly with them for free. Actual service dogs are different than therapy dogs in that they are trained for a specific purpose like leading a blind person or helping manage an owner's disease.
