Therapy Dogs Today. Their Gifts, Our Obligation

Editorial Review
As more and more people adjust to the physical and emotional challenges of today's chaotic world, therapy dogs are proving their worth in diverse settings. No one knows this better than Kris Butler. Her workshops integrate the science of human health and education with the magic of hands-on interactions with appropriate dogs to teach health care providers, educators, volunteers, assessors, and dog trainers across the United States the most effective and ethical ways to include dogs in settings that enhance human healing, learning and self-awareness.

At last she's written a book in which she explores the complex professional and ethical issues that surround the environments in which therapy dogs work and volunteer. Therapy Dogs Today: Their Gifts, Our Obligation is an important book for anyone who handles, assesses, or trains visiting therapy dogs and it is essential for professional people who oversee therapy dog programs or include their own dogs in the their workplaces. The book includes a foreword by Maureen Fredrickson.
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Customer Reviews

Therapy dog "must own" book!

2004-04-21
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! (-:

Healing dogs, and heeling dogs.....

2004-04-19
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.

Essential information 2008-03-22
Valuable information for everyone who does pet therapy with their dog. I wish I would have read this before I began pet therapy. An excellent easy to understand book.

A must read for active therapy teams 2007-11-19
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!

Perfection 2007-06-13
Book arrived quickly and in perfect condition.

A great practical guide for therapy dogs 2005-08-08
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.

Therapy Must Have Book 2004-06-19
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.