Comfort dog

[Perrotfish]

Random question: Does anyone have any idea how the military selects and trains comfort dogs? Are they volunteers owned by the public or are they military owned? Can an officer's dog be a hospital comfort dog? Do all the big three even have them? I've only actually seen one at Balboa.

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[psychbender]

Are you talking about the therapy dogs that go around the hospital, visiting with the soldiers/marines/sailors/airmen, sometimes wearing ACU/digicam vests with name and rank? We have them here at Reed/Bethesda, too. A year or so ago, I ran into someone and her lab puppy at my local coffee shop, and she mentioned that she was raising it to be a therapy dog at Reed, so I guess at least some come from civilian volunteers. Also, many times, I see them being led around the hospital by folks with the volunteer vests.

 

[backrow]

The therapy dogs I know have all been from volunteers. One was owned by one of the staff members at one of the hospitals I worked at and would come to work with her on occasion. All you need is a certified therapy dog and the insurance and I'm sure the hospital would be more than happy to have another volunteer therapy dog.

I think it's quite the ordeal though to have a dog certified.

 

[Apollyon]

Just coincidentally, in the NYT today - Military dogs show signs of PTSD.