Hello Pet Therapy Enthusiasts,

This meet up is for anyone who is actively participating in pet therapy in the Greater Puget Sound region or anyone that is interested in pursuing pet therapy. We like to think of pet therapy as an emotional band aid. We can and do make a difference in our community with the simple kind act of sharing our pet with others.

We don't exclude the Eastside or anyone who wants to share their registered therapy pet partner. We do not currently have any regularly scheduled meet ups, but that can easily change. We will post events and seminars that we are aware of. We all want to continue to be educated. We encourage you to post your visits and experiences as well. We do suggest meeting up at the many events where we will have a community booth and we encourage you to check our message board often.

Most of our participants are either current Delta Society Pet Partners, Reading With Rover D.R.E.A.M. team (dogs for reading education assistance and more) members or those who are working to achieve their therapy dog credentials. You do not have to be a registered therapy team to belong here. We love to have anyone who has an interest in what we do or if you have the desire to take this journey this forum will be of great help to you.

We are also happy to help anyone who is interested in becoming a volunteer with their animal and determine if their best friend is well suited to therapy work, and we can refer you to training classes in your home area.

If you are interested in becoming a pet therapy team member please review the information on becoming a Pet Partner at Delta Society or visit Reading With Rover. You can either opt to attend a training class (which I found helpful) or take the home study course available via the Delta Society. Reading With Rover will be offering their student manual starting September 08. You can find training classes near your home listed on the Delta Society's website listed by state and city. If you are interested in the children's volunteer program Reading With Rover we are happy guide you along also.

On a personal note, I am the Executive Director of Reading With Rover www.readingwithrover.org a local literacy program where children read to our dogs and it is a beautiful thing to watch and be a part of. RWR also works with autistic children and children who are ill or with physical challenges. The next best thing to volunteering with your dog is helping great people like you get involved and make a difference. Hope to see you and enjoy this journey!

Sincerely,

Becky Bishop, Organizer