Since 2014 the Chestermere Therapy Dogs Society has been helping to connect people and therapy dogs for stress relief.
“The society began in the early part of 2014 with the intention of helping in the community wherever we can by using therapy dogs,” said Chestermere Therapy Dogs Society President Steve King.
Initially the society was only running two programs but as of 2015 the added a third.
The first is Listening Tails where the dogs and their handlers go to the Chestermere Public Library and 10 area schools so that young children can boost their confidence in reading out loud by reading to the dogs.
The therapy dogs come out to Sarah Thompson School for the Listening Tails program.
The second program, Visiting Tails, sees the dogs go to senior’s facilities and spend time with the residents there. This program has expanded to a total of seven senior’s facilities.
The newest program, Caring Tails, has the dogs helping people undergoing a stressful event in their lives.
“For example we take the dogs into Chestermere High School over exam time,” said King.
They also come out to Langdon school to help the students with stress.
One of the volunteer teams from has a lot of success in the Caring Tails program.
Lori Kent and her eight-year-old Wheaten Terrier Kibo live in Chestermere and have been volunteering for about two years.
“He loves people,” said Kent, “he absolutely love everybody, he can’t wait to meet people.”
One time at the high school during exam time the pair was in the main program room when Kibo heard someone crying in the hall.
“He was straining at his leash pointing himself out to the door,” said Kent.
After checking with a teacher, the pair went out into the hall.
“There was a group of people, [Kibo] went immediately to the girl that was crying,” said Kent, “and she bends down and starts petting him and stops crying.”
The Caring Tails program is open to anyone and can be booked by contacting the society for a consultation.
“We’ve helped people with young children or the adults themselves that just need some time with a dog,” he said.
The society has 43 dog and handler teams and are looking for more volunteers, especially those with availability weekdays during the day.
“We are looking for more handlers particularly in the Langdon area,” said King.
Any dog can be trained as a therapy dog.
Potential therapy dogs are assessed by King who looks for dogs with good temperaments and great obedience as well as general health of the dog.
The dogs are also checked for free at Chestermere Veterinary Clinic and the handler have to get a police check completed.
King would like to add up to four more handlers for the Langdon and Strathmore areas.
The growth of the society has exceeded King’s expectations when he started the society in 2014.
“When you start a brand-new charity you never quite know where this thing’s going to go,” he said.
“I’ve been blown away by…both the interest and the demand for our services,” said King.
He credits the success of the society to the dogs.
“Dogs have this amazing ability to allow us to relax,” said King, “and of course they’re non-judgmental.”
People wanting to volunteer with the society or wishing to book time with the Caring Tails program can contact the Society by phone at (587) 581-5571 or e-mail at info@ctds.ca.
