Tuesday Topics #37 - Young or Old?
It has been a while since I've posted a Tuesday Topic, but I would love input, especially (but by no means exclusively) from readers who have experience with a therapy dog program
Last weekend, I completed the human training portion of the therapy dog program. Our next step is to pick a facility and go through a mentoring process, first visiting the facility with the mentor and her dog where I would be observing them. Then, the mentor will come with Cabana and me and observe us, provide feedback, and if needed, come with us another time, until we are comfortable going on our own.
So I'm trying to decide whether to volunteer at a facility for older folks (an Alzheimers assisted living facility near my house) or in an elementary school classroom in the next town.
I think Cabana would be fine with either age group, although it's hard for me to know for sure until we actually try it. As a reading dog, I think Cabana would enjoy being around the children, but it involves sitting still (and pretending to listen to books) for a long period of time, up to an hour. Of course, she can take breaks in between readers, but mostly, it's sitting or lying still. At the Alzheimers facility, we would either go during their "social hour" or visit residents in their rooms. So there would be more walking around and shorter visits with a greater number of people. I'll likely be having the same conversations over and over again, since the Alzheimers residents might not remember what they asked me two minutes ago, but I don't know if that's such a bad thing. Or maybe it will drive me crazy, I just don't know.
This therapy dog program recently lost a lot of its facilities, due to a split in the group. So there aren't very many places to choose from. The Alzheimers facility and this particular school are the only places within a 10-mile radius. I had originally wanted to volunteer at the library, but that is no longer an option.
Any thoughts on which way I should go, older people or young 'uns?
