Customer Reviews

Lapdog Therapy: My Journey from Companion Dog to Therapy Dog

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Canine author and therapy dog Mickey offers a furry-fresh perspective on animal-assisted activities in his book LapDog Therapy. An educational and entertaining read for anyone who is - or wants to be - involved in this rewarding world of human-animal interaction.

An added benefit for Canadian readers is the inclusion of Canadian contact information in the well laid-out reference section.

It's a cute concept - to have a little Boston Terrior tell us all we need to know about pet therapy. Mickey is an engaging narrator and I enjoyed reading his story. But this book offers lots, lots more than entertainment. It lets you see from the ground up what it's like for a dog and his owner to train and work as a pet therapy team.

This book answers many questions I've had about pet therapy. What kind of dogs can do it? What does pet therapy involve? How do you and your dog train and qualify for being in such a program? Where can I find resources about pet therapy? How do the folks who have the pets visit benefit?

All these questions, and most of all the last, are answered in a very satisfying, accessible fashion. _Lapdog Therapy_ is very inspiring as it demonstrates with words, photographs and beautiful watercolours how Mickey and Winnie make a difference to the folks at a retirement community near their house. Therapy dogs are needed and loved for many reasons and in many ways by the older people pictured and described in this book. (I must note that I was very happy with the respectful way the folks in the retirement home were presented.)

At the end of the story, there are dozens of resources (most of which can be contacted by email).

Thank you, Mickey! My mastiffs can never do "lapdog therapy" (except maybe for the Jolly Green Giant), but I see they and I could qualify to do pet therapy.