ANIMAL ASSISTED THERAPY SERVICES, MA

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New AaTs MA Team in Training: Please wish Kim and Ella success as they begin therapy dog training classes! We're pawsitive they'll excel! Ella would be our first small breed dog on MA.
NEW AaTs MA Teams!! We are proud to introduce TWO new AaTs MA Therapy Dog Teams, Sam and Copper and Robin and Sooley! They completed their final examination during a visit to Holy Cross College where they demonstrated their proficiency of all skills. Their "about me" sections should be up very shortly, stay tuned!

DOG TRAINING CLASSES!!!! STARTING IN OCTOBER!!!
AKC Canine Good Citizen: Start Date October 9 6-7pm
Therapy Dog Team Training: Start Date TBD!

HOLY CROSS: Great news to share! Not only has Therapy Dog Keeva been "promoted" and is now visiting the college weekly, but Holy Cross Campus Police has "hired" a new comfort dog, Gracie! We are very much looking forward to working with Gracie and helping the college students relax!

SPENCER EAST BROOKFIELD REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT: Therapy Dog Keeva is continuing visits within the Spencer East Brookfield Regional School District this year! Follow our IG page, as well as @choosesebrsd for updates! This program is graciously provided by the Student Services Department: https://www.smore.com/zjy7w

AKC STAR Puppy Class is set to begin on June 26! Please get your registration forms in here. This is a great beginner obedience and puppy behavior problem solving course geared towards dogs under 1 year of age.
Cost: $150.00
Length: 6 weeks
Time: 6-7pm

Unified Special Olympics: All of the schools in the Spencer East Brookfield Regional School District met at David Prouty High School for a fun-filled day of activities on June 3rd! It was so wonderful to see everyone come together as a whole and work together as a team. Keeva was present during the opening ceremony in order to welcome the participants and provided relaxation to athletes prior to events.
ICISF World Congress 2019: Kim and Keeva attended the ICISF World Congress in Baltimore, MD on May 22-24. This was an unforgettable opportunity to hear from crisis response personnel from all over the world! Topic included were the CISM response to the Virgin Islands following a natural disaster, CISM debriefings to teachers after a school shooting, ways to start a therapy dog program in a communications center, and a survivor's point of view after a bombing. We enjoyed dinner with a Canadian Crisis Response Team and their two K9s, Kalahan and Serenity, and lunch with a fellow K9 First Responder Team, Bill and Clarence! This was also a great training opportunity for Keeva and we worked on navigating the hotel's escalators and being in crowded situations. We are very excited to share what we learned with our teammates at an upcoming CM CISM team meeting. Please see our photos from the conference here.

ICISF World Congress 2019! Kim and K9 Keeva will be attending the ICISF World Congress, an international Crisis Intervention conference, this year in Baltimore! This is an incredible opportunity to meet with crisis interventionists from all over the world and to attend a variety of presentations on disasters, lessons learned, research, crisis response dogs and more!

Donations are needed! Please see our GoFundMe or donate directly on this site. Thank you!

K9 First Responders: Kim and Keeva have passed the interview, evaluation, and 32 hour training process required to join K9FR! A K9FR Team is a handler and dog trained as an "All-Hazards Psychological Trauma Response Team" supporting the re-establishment of a person's cognitive and emotional equilibrium who has been impacted by a psychological trauma. K9FR has deployed across the nation to natural disasters, mass casualties, and critical incidents such as suicides and line of duty deaths. www.k9fr.org

Partnership with Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District! AaTs Credentialed Therapy Dog Teams will be making routine visits to ALL SCHOOLS in order to serve EVERY STUDENT in the ENTIRE DISTRICT! We are so excited to promote wellness with students of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. Look for this program to begin on March 1st.

Dog Training Classes! AaTs is very proud to announce that we will be hosting all dog training classes at Purely Pups in Worcester!

Partnership with Holy Cross College in Worcester! In addition to customary therapy dog visits during the week of final exams, AaTs will ensure ongoing comfort and support for students by providing therapy dog visits on campus on a monthly basis. Holy Cross students will be able to sign up for private appointments with a therapy dog and campus counselor and also engage in traditional group visits with a therapy dog at various locations on campus. AaTs MA expresses gratitude to the Office of Disability Services and the D.R.E.A.M. Chapter of Holy Cross!

Header Picture: Photos by Emma Devlin, 413-544-5259