Therapy dog

And someone suggested I look into volunteering.

doing therapy dog work with the Good Dog Foundation.

So little dude and I trained to be a dog therapy team with the Good Dog Foundation.

And that began me on this journey that set me up to where I am today.

And it was through this experience that I realized the importance of human connection.

And I really wanted to teach that idea to my early childhood classroom where I was teaching.

So I asked the head of school, can I bring in little dude into the classroom to teach the kids why it's important to be kind and what a therapy dog is? And as soon as I brought him in, it gave me this absolute aha moment of how engaging having a dog in the classroom is.

Kids were excited.

Welcome to the Therapy Dogs Australia podcast.

I'm Sam Keight, owner of Therapy Dogs Australia, psychologist, animal-assisted therapist, and accredited dog trainer.

With over a decade in the field with my team of dogs, I'm here to share practical advice, honest stories, and expert insights for professional therapy dog handlers, dog trainers, and canine enthusiasts who want to live and work ethically and expertly with their canine co-therapist.

And I'm Max, your co-host, Therapy Dogs Australia's creative lead and passionate dog owner here to ask questions and bring curiosity as we explore this fascinating industry together.

So, whether you're a seasoned handler or just starting out, this podcast is here as a professional development resource to support you and your dog on your journey throughout this exciting industry.

While chatting to a range of inspiring people about our absolute love of dogs and the power of the human-animal bond.

I need someone to do the temperament assessment."

[laughs]

She guides adult trauma survivors through one-on-one coaching classes and workshops, creating safe, empowering spaces for healing and growth.

Alongside Louie, her certified therapy dog, Caroline combines coaching, breathwork and animal-assisted therapy to support regulation, resilience and personal transformation.

Trigger warning for this episode, we discuss Caroline's lived experience of incest, child sexual abuse and family and domestic violence.

So if that's something that you're not ready to listen to right now or at all, please skip over this episode and come back and join us next week.

This way.

Lou is behind me.

Therapy dog extraordinaire.

And I am his sidekick in those settings.

Question for you guys.

I should know the answer to this, but the, the therapy dogs that, that show up, are they part of FAST?

Thank you to our sponsor, C&C Technologies.

C&C Technologies, serving law enforcement, government, and military markets with tailored mission solutions, system training, and live 24/7 support with CNC.live platform.

[laughs] I'm totally doing it wrong, man.

Um, now, Mike, correct me if I'm wrong.

I think that in the past, a few conferences at times, for the dogs that are part of FAST, were we able to have somebody local that was also involved with, uh, doing therapy dogs? We also had somebody that was able to show up kind of- Yeah ...

from that local area where the conference was at.

Question for you guys.

I should know the answer to this, but the therapy dogs that show up, are they part of FAST?

Thank you to our sponsor, Precision Aviation Group.

Mission critical operators and fleet managers rely on Precision Aviation Group as a worldwide leading rotor and fixed wing MRO provider.

I'm totally doing it wrong, man.

Um, now Mike, correct me if I'm wrong.

I think that in the past, a few conferences at times for the dogs that are part of fast, um, Were we able to have somebody local that was also involved with doing therapy dogs? We also had somebody that was able to show

up kind of from that local area where the conference was at.

Maisie, they've come to school with Emmanuel College principal Dan Brown each day.

They're therapy dogs giving students reprieve.

Oh,

look at them.