Benefits of visitations
Researchers and experts agree that pets excel as therapeutic agents and that dogs are an antidote to depression. Studies have shown a decrease in both blood pressure and stress levels during therapy dog visits. A visit from one of our therapy dog teams can break the daily routine, increase overall emotional well-being, and stimulate the mind in dramatic ways. Our certified therapy dogs offer so many wonderful benefits to people of all ages such as:
-
Bringing joy and laughter, even if for a short time
-
Taking a person’s mind off of personal problems, pains and discomfort
-
Getting people to share their emotions and stories
-
Giving a chance for people to communicate with others
-
Reducing stress and invoking a sense of well being
-
Rekindling warm memories of their pets
Why use Therapy dogs at your facility
A Therapy Dog is more than a family pet visiting Aunt Emma at a retirement home or in the hospital. In the past 16 years since the founding of the Pet Prescription Team we have seen in some healthcare facilities the family pet visiting may be an acceptable practice. Pet Prescription Team Therapy dogs and their handlers, have a great deal more to offer along with a far lower degree of risk than a family pet just coming in to visit a relative.
Our therapy dogs are ones who like meeting people. They are gentle, adaptable to new environments, and totally non-aggressive. Our dogs are working animals and they love the work they are bred or trained to do. Interacting with people is the work of a Pet Prescription Team therapy dog and they always seem excited to visit someone new.
The Reason Facilities Use
The
Pet Prescription Team
What sets us apart and makes us superior in the industry
Pet Prescription Team Therapy dogs are highly trained working dogs. They have gone thru pre-training classes prior to entering the training program with the Pet Prescription Team. During the process in training with our organization the handler and the dog have learned the policy and procedures for proper visitations in all healthcare facilities.
-
Meeting and greeting exercises
-
Familiarization with hospital equipment (Walkers, Wheelchairs, Oxogen tanks, IV push carts, Bed visitations
-
Hospital environment visitation policies & procedures
-
$2M Comprehensive general liability insurance for all volunteers
-
Instruction and coaching on safe dog-handling in health care facilities including, infection control, confidentiality and HIPAA protocol
-
Confined area workspace techniques
-
Confidence building techniques for both the volunteer & dog for the facilities they will be assigned to once certified
Once the 8 week training course has been completed the dog will be tested, observed, and certified by the Pet Prescription Team organization. All volunteers and dogs certified through its organization are covered and insured by liability insurance through the Pet Prescription Team. Any dog certified through the Pet Prescription Team organization verifies it is neither human nor animal aggressive and that the handler is firmly in control. Dogs are screened to make sure they are suitable for the volunteer work that they will perform.
Once the dog/handler team is certified, they become members of the certifying organization know as; “The Pet Prescription Team.” As members, PPT provides insurance for its volunteer teams in the event someone is injured as a result of interacting with the therapy dog. The dog must wear the Pet Prescription Team Therapy vest and handler must wear a PPT team shirt and badges to identify themselves at all facilities they visit. All volunteers must abide by the certifying organization’s rules and by the rules of the institutions they visit. All dogs must have records of current vaccinations for membership. All dogs must be kept on a lead that is no longer that 4′ and they must be bathed, groomed, and with trimmed toenails to be allowed in any facility.
If your facility would like to start a therapy dog program, Pet Prescription Team is at your service. Best of all, there is no cost to your facility.
Visitation Request
Contact us today to arrange for certified therapy teams to visit your facility.
In The News
The Pet Prescription Team has received many opportunities to share the healing power of pet assisted therapy visitations. Many health professionals, law enforcement branches and educators have reached out to utilizes the services of the Pet Prescription Team organization over the years. Clearly the Pet Prescription Team is advancing the knowledge of the human-animal bond and making a difference in the communities it serves.
Below are various selected testimonials, press conferences and referrals regarding the Pet Prescription Team organization.
If you are a member of the media and have an inquiry, please feel free to contact our office.
By California News Wire Services, News Partner
Jun 7, 2016 11:32 am ET | Updated Jun 7, 2016 1:45 pm ET
Therapy dogs will be used to comfort victims of human trafficking as part of a new program slated to be announced today.
Sheriff Jim McDonnell will formally announce a joint effort between the Los Angeles Regional Task force on Human Trafficking and the Pet Prescriptions Team, a Southern California-based volunteer group that helps owners train their household pets to serve as therapy animals, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Bob Boese.
The event will take place at 4:30 p.m. today at the sheriff's Sherman Block Headquarters Building at 4700 Ramona Blvd. in Monterey Park.
"The team from Pet Prescriptions has a cadre of volunteers and therapy dogs available to be called upon by investigators whenever they feel a therapy dog can help provide emotional support to victims of human trafficking," Boese said. "This can put the victim at ease, and set the tone for what surely is the critical point for both the victim's recovery and the detective's case.”
Therapy Dogs Soften Inmates' Hearts
By Dano Nissen
Published Jul 22, 2016 at 7:38 PM
A pet therapy group announced this week a partnership with authorities in downtown Los Angeles with the aim of trying to soften even the hardest criminal.
Four days a week, volunteers with the Pet Prescription Team take their certified therapy dogs to meet inmates at Twin Towers.
"They are there to show unconditional love and are never judgmental," said Krystal Emery, the founder of the Pet Prescription Team, which has offices in LA and San Diego. "Humans will fail you, but dogs will not."
Initially Pet Prescription Team volunteers were apprehensive. But they warmed up when the dogs met the inmates.
"I was expecting a totally different experience today, but after the very first smile and their faces pressed against the glass vanished any apprehensions," said volunteer Jack Yandell.
Emery said volunteers began to tear up when they saw inmates cycle through a line to pet dogs through a small opening in their jail cells.
"Absolutely amazing," she said.
The Pet Prescription Team, a non profit founded in 2003 that trains and certifies owners and pets for therapy visits, is also developing programs with juvenile halls. The dogs are good at comforting children who have dealt with trauma, Emery's husband and co-director Philip Emery said.
"The dogs decrease stress and address trauma by creating a softer and quieter environment," said a Nick Ippolito, a spokesman for Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe.
