Traditional canine-assisted experiences occur when a therapy dog is taken to a hospital, senior center, hospice, school or a crisis location to offer comfort to those in need.

DogAbility changed this traditional practice so that people visit us at OUR LOCATION. People arrive by bus or car after scheduling an appointment. We are open 6 days a week between 10am – 6pm for scheduling. We also schedule all our dog teams based on size, energy and skills using a calendar that coincides with their availability. These individuals and groups visit with our canine teams for purposes of education, recreation, socialization, inspiration or comfort.

Having our own facility allows us to set up areas where people and dogs can engage in activities such as with agility obstacles, tricks, games and wagon rides as well as comfort visits and education on canine care.

Our dogs and their handlers are certified as a team since the handler plays as big a role in engagement as much as their dog does. Everyone is covered by our liability insurance while representing DogAbility at our location and/or when specifically sent as a team to represent us at off-site presentations or events. We do not send our Certified Teams to visit participants at off-site locations as there are other traditional therapy organizations that already provide dogs for those types of visits.

What does it mean to be a Certified DogAbility Team ?                                          

All of our teams participate in a process towards becoming certified by attending an initial evaluation with a trial session. If accepted into the program, they then attend additional supervised sessions while also attending training classes that take place in public settings as well as at DogAbility. Our teams consist of owners and their beloved dogs that they would like to share with others, registered therapy dogs with other organizations, retired or current competition dogs. 

The role of a DogAbility Certified Team is to engage with your own dog and our participants while involved in a variety of activities. Our activities include running a dog through a tunnel and over a jump, riding in a wagon, finding a hidden toy or treat, demonstrations or teaching about canine breeds, care and management or perhaps sitting quietly on the floor with your dog for a comfort or peaceful visit.