Therapy Dogs Today: Their Gifts, Our Obligation

I can not thank Kris Butler enough for writing this book. I have been a very active dog therapy visiter this last year and visits were going very well until I started visiting a behavior health unit at a local hospital. My boxer dog became very stressed and I was very concerned. After reading Therapy Dogs Today, I became very proactive in how I did my visits to these BH units from what I had learned from this book. The very first visit after reading this book, I could not be happier about how my dog responded to the visit. Once I understood how stressful this environment was for my dog and what were the stressors, I was than able to work on reducing these stressors. Both my dog and I thank you Kris!

Kris has provided us with great new insight and tips into our work with therapy dogs. The examples are wonderful - and in my mind one of the best parts is on her discussion of social proximity and how important it is to understand this in ALL of our visits. A job well done!!! A must read Kate Nicoll, MSW, author Soul Friends: Finding healing with animals, founder Soul Friends, Inc.

One of the best Therapy Dog books I have read! Kris Butler shares her wealth of experiences so we all can contribute, learn, and benefit from her knowledge.The book covers everything from the dogs, patients, health care professionals to the organizations we work with. It also covers therapy certification organizations.Being a small therapy dog owner and reading about their special needs and outlook of the world, really acknowledged their "special gifts and our obligation" to them as therapy dogs.I would recommend this book to anyone considering therapy dog work or an experienced therapy dog team.

This lady has managed to put together, in concise and interesting form, the practical "whys and where-fors" of being a certified therapy dog team in many different venues. This book is an absolute wealth of information, covering every aspect on the subject of therapy dogs. It should be on every animal professional's (as well as HUMAN health worker's!) shelf as a sourcebook. A publication such as this has been desperately needed for years. "Appaws" to you, Kris Butler! (-:

Kris Butler's new book should be required reading for everyone who has an interest in Animal-Assisted therapy, everyone who does AAT and everyone who benefits from AAT. And that's everyone! Butler has clearly and thoughtfully identified the sites and systems for the therapy work we do with our dogs. Even more, she has anticipated and addressed each potential obstacle, concern or problem, providing therapy dog owners and program administrators with a positive and pro-active way to establish, deliver and assess therapy dog services across a range of institutional settings.Dogs need training to do therapy work, and people and communities need training to understand the role of dogs in our lives, and how those roles (and our expectations) change across social settings, and across generations. This book discusses heeling dogs as healing dogs, and a bit about how to do both.Kris Butler is wise to the ways of dogs and people, and she is deeply committed to contribution dogs make to the quality of our lives. As a dog trainer, community educator, and advisory board member for 'Paws Up' certified therapy dogs, I recommend this book without reservation to anyone who is already working in animal-assisted therapy, and anyone who ever thought their dog might bring some joy and comfort to kids or elders.