Our Facility dog program has been developed on and around Animal Assisted Intervention International (AAII) guidelines. A facility dog team may provide this service in a variety of settings. It maybe group or individual in nature, and maybe implemented for persons of any age.
The dogs working in these locations could be from our assistance dog program either our in-training dogs or dogs that could not meet the high demands of an assistance dog but enjoy helping/working with others. Others could be privately owned dogs that have gone through our accreditation.
Animal assisted interventions is a broad term that is now commonly used to describe the utilization of a trained dog in diverse manners beneficial to humans. The intervention is specifically designed to promote goal-directed improvement in human physical, social, emotional and/or cognitive function in which a specially trained dog- handler team in conjunction with a health or education professional (eg therapist, support worker, teacher or healthcare provider) is an integral part.
These interventions are designed to meet goals to support that individual’s needs. Goals can be varied and may include helping a client with:
- Self esteem
- Anxiety
- Social interaction
- Responsibility
- Mobility, fine and gross motor skills
- Health – improving exercise, diet
Gaining this Accreditation shows that the dogs have had formal training and has passed K9SMD requirements.