Humane Society of Broward County Animal Assisted Therapy Program

The Animal Assisted Therapy Program is a rewarding experience for you and your companion animal. Through this program, our AAT teams visit various facilities with their pets. Below are some of the types of facilities we visit:
• Psychiatric Facilities
• Nursing Homes (short & long term care)
• Assisted Living Facilities
• Rehabilitation Centers
• Adult Day Care Centers
• Retirement Homes
• Skilled Nursing Facilities / Homes
• Hospitals
• Hospice
• Alzheimer's & Dementia Facilities
• Residential Senior Groups
• Memory Support Centers
• Mental Health Facilities
• Children's Long Term Care Facilities
• Pediatric In-patient & Intensive Care Units
• Eating Disorder Clinics
• Developmental Pre-schools (children with multiple and severe disabilities)
• Libraries, Private and Public Schools

BASELINE PROGRAM CRITERIA:
• Handlers must be at least 18 years old
• Handlers must have owned their animal for a minimum of one year
• Animals must be one year or older to participate
• Animals must be spayed or neutered
• Animals must be current on vaccinations
• Animals must be non-aggressive in all situations towards humans and other animals
• Animals must be interested in people
• Animals must be well-behaved (i.e.: walks well on a leash without pulling, doesn't jump up, adheres to basic obedience commands such as sit, down, stay, come and heel)

HOW TO GET STARTED IN ANIMAL ASSISTED THERAPY (AAT):
First you will need to attend the Humane Society of Broward County's Volunteer Orientation. Volunteer Orientation is scheduled through our Volunteer Services Department at 954.266.6814.

Once you have completed the Volunteer Orientation, you will be required to attend a 2 hour AAT class without your animal. This class will teach you all about our Animal Assisted Therapy Program and what skill requirements both you and your animal must possess in order to be considered for our program.

After the AAT course is completed, you and your animal might require further training. Training is determined by the type of program you and your animal will be participating in, and what skill sets you and your animal have or need to have in order to participate. AAT Advanced Obedience Training classes are held at the Humane Society and are scheduled once a week for 6 weeks. The Manager of the AAT program will decide if you and your animal require further training before being evaluated for the program.

If further training is not required, you will be scheduled for your evaluation. The meeting, inclusive of the evaluation will take approximately 1 ½ hours. Evaluations are conducted at the Humane Society.

Volunteers will need to provide a copy of their animals updated veterinarian records showing all vaccinations were administered at the time of the training class and/or the evaluation.

If you have multiple pets the requirement is one pet per handler. You may have multiple pets evaluated and if they pass you will be required to only bring one pet per visit. You may rotate your pets as necessary. If you have multiple pets and more than one handler, each pet and handler may be evaluated separately for the program.

The Certification fee for this program is $80.00 or $100.00 depending on which option best fits your needs. The Certification fee covers the cost for the materials and equipment you will need to volunteer in this program. The Certification fee is non-refundable.

If you are interested in joining our AAT program, please contact the Humane Society directly at 954.266.6856 or email us at therapy@hsbroward.com.