Welcome to the Boulder County Comfort Dogs
Exciting Announcement! The BCCD group is now being operated as a Community Outreach program of Therapy Dogs Boulder County. It is no longer a “hospital only” program and is open to all therapy dog teams who possess the skills and training needed to accomplish the tasks.
Who are the Boulder County Comfort Dogs?
They are a very special highly organized group of wonderful Therapy Dog Teams in Boulder County whose human partner and dog partner both possess the skills and training needed to bring comfort to victims, victim families, law enforcement, fire, medical emergencies or crisis events when they need it most in our community.
Team Selection Process:
TEAM ELIGIBILITY:
Boulder County Comfort Dogs are selected from teams registered with TDBC who have been nominated by another person, then approved by the Leadership of TDBC.
The selection process is as following:
- Team name is submitted to the TDBC Leadership via a nomination.
- If the handler and dog nominated are familiar and agreeable with at least two members of the TDBC Leadership group, those two members will write email recommendations to the rest of the TDBC Leadership asking for approval of new team.
- Approval by TDBC Leadership must be unanimous. It can go through as many votes by TDBC Leadership as is necessary to be sure the correct decision is reached.
- Any new team rejected is deemed to be rejected by the entire TDBC Leadership, not any one person.
- If a new team is nominated and no one on the TDBC Leadership knows anything about this dog or handler, then two members of the Leadership must make arrangements to meet the new team and examine their visiting skills, control by handler, calmness of the dog. If the dog passes their appraisal, then the two Leadership members write the recommendations to the other Leadership people asking for approval. This shadowing process can be repeated until all TDBC Leadership are unanimous for team acceptance.
To be a BCCD team member the following criteria must be met:
- Must be a current pet therapy team within the TDBC therapy dog program group of facilities and registered with the TDBC group.
- Dogs and handlers must have current active registration with Alliance of Therapy Dogs or Pet Partners. If two people are handlers for the same dog, both must be registered individually with the dog by one of the accepted associations.
In addition:
- Dog cannot be dog sensitive – must be comfortable with other dogs and react appropriately.
- Dogs and handlers must be able to work comfortably with individuals who are experiencing intense distress and extreme reactions, including, but not limited to, screaming, hysterical crying, anger or withdrawal.
- Dogs and handlers must be able to work with individuals in non-traditional settings.
- Dogs and handlers must be able to work in a chaotic, unpredictable environment.
- Dogs and handlers must be able to work with, and provide support to, individuals from diverse cultures, ethnic and age groups, developmental and socio-economic levels, and faith backgrounds.
- Teams must complete on-line training for Psychological First Aid, Dog stress training and Privacy Information training and must pass the quiz in a manner acceptable to the TDBC Leadership.
Requirements:
- Therapy Dog Registration: All teams must be registered with a therapy dog association. The accepted registration memberships are:
– Alliance of Therapy Dogs (www.therapydogs.com)
– PetPartners(www.petpartners.org
Are you interested in being a member of our Comfort Dog group with your dog?