I am over the moon to post this brag about my Roney Boy. He passed his therapy dog evaluation with Comfort Caring Canines Therapy Dogs last night.
I had my doubts when we arrived. It was directly after work. I’d been at the office so Ronon had been in daycare at Bark U all day and was kind of wired. We skidded into the room at the last second, so I was anxious, which he could feel. He settled in quickly though and enjoyed himself. Their testing process was considerably longer and more involved than what Snick and I had to pass for Delta Society back in the day. As expected, the “leave it” exercise was the big challenge for us. We had to do two figure eights around two bowls of kibble! Ronon was so excited when he saw them put that food down… I felt bad telling him he couldn’t have it. Walking past it was HARD, but he did it. I was so proud of him.
What Will Ronon Do as a Therapy Dog?
There are many different jobs for therapy dogs. Ronon isn’t naturally snuggly, so he won’t be doing the kind of work many people think of as therapy dog work – visiting hospitals, nursing homes, etc. He loves kids, so we’re going to focus on ways to help children. After he has some experience, I think we’ll volunteer at Family Court. I think his presence will be very reassuring to kids at court. 
We’re starting out with weekly visits to an elementary school.
Snick loved kids too and his first therapy dog work was at an elementary school as well. He did various types of therapy work, but humane education in schools was definitely his favorite. I think he would approve of Ronon taking me to court.