Pet Therapy Team (People & Animals Who Serve)

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The mission of PAWS (People and Animals Who Serve Anne Arundel County) is to improve and enrich the quality of life for elderly and disabled residents as well as anyone in need in the Anne Arundel County community. Through support visits, our trained and registered human and pet volunteers provide comfort, companionship and love. PAWS is a 501(c)3 our pet therapy teams, also known as since animal-assisted therapy, have been shown to reduce anxiety and depression and improve emotional, social and cognitive functioning particularly under stress-prone conditions like COVID-19 has provided.

P.A.W.S. JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE: PAWS Pet Therapy Team

To take pets for regular weekly visits to isolated residents at one or more nursing homes or approved visiting sites providing friendship and companionship.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

♥ Attend an orientation class conducted by the P.A.W.S. staff

♥ Pet evaluations are based on the AKC 10 Key Points of the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) evaluation. The Canine Good Citizen Program is a two-part program. First: to teach responsible dog ownership to owners and second to certify that dogs have the training and behavior needed to be reliable.

PAWS team members will meet with you and your dog to complete basic testing to ensure you have good control of your animal and that they are suited for pet therapy visitation with our program. The testing is based on the AKC Good Citizen Test. You can review the 10 exercises here:
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/essential-skills-for-every-dog/

♥ Prepare your pet for visits to assigned sites:

♥ Be certain your pet is clean, well groomed, and nails/claws are trimmed

♥ Protect your pet from eye pokes, hair pulls, or other accidental harm while visiting

♥ Pet must be under your control at all times

♥ Take your pet to the visiting site as a friendly visitor

♥ Visit with residents/children, taking time to let them enjoy the pet's company

♥ Record your visiting time and submit your hours: https://bit.ly/PAWSHOURS

♥ Contact the P.A.W.S. office with any questions and/or concerns

♥ Contact the facility staff with any immediate incidents or problems that may arise

SKILLS REQUIRED:

♥ Comfortable and compassionate in nursing home or other visiting site setting

♥ Provide Pet Assisted Therapy:

♥ Sensitive and good listener with ability to share your pet and life experiences with others

♥ Friendly, sociable, respectful, and empathetic

TRAINING PROVIDED:

♥ Orientation to the P.A.W.S. Program

♥ Group first visit with the director present or will meet you upon your first visit,

♥ Ongoing opportunities to share experiences and strategies with other volunteers

TIME REQUIRED:

One 1-hour visit per week for a commitment of a year.

• AT NO TIME IS ANYONE, OTHER THAN YOURSELF, ALLOWED TO VISIT A FACILITY WITH YOUR PET(S) AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF P.A.W.S.