Pet Therapy

 
Pet Partners Jax provides pet therapy instruction and evaluation for handlers and their animals who want to volunteer together. We are an affiliate of the national organization Pet Partners. Pet Partners registers teams through instruction and evaluation and provides insurance coverage for teams while they are working. Our organization started with Kristi Leonard and Sandy Mercier, and has grown to include respected dog trainer, Colleen Whalen. By partnering together with Colleen, Pet Partners Jax can offer unmatched training for therapy work.

The training starts with Level 1: Pet Partners Handler course with Kristi in the classroom with handlers only. There, the handler learns about canine calming signals, how essential skills work in therapy work, the parts of a visit, infection control, and all about the evaluation.
From the handler training, teams move on to Level 2: Training & Practice Visits. Handlers and their dogs come in together to work with Colleen for 2 dog training sessions. These sessions help teams hone essential skills, learn tricks, and gain great insight into how they are actually working with their dog. After the training sessions, teams will get a chance to take all they have learned and go out on two practice visits with Kristi and Colleen. The practice visits happen at a nearby facility and give the teams invaluable experience before they face the evaluation and visiting on their own.
Once Level 1 & 2 are complete, teams are ready for the Pet Partners Evaluation with Sandy Mercier. The evaluation tests teams on skills and aptitude and really tests the teams mettle. Teams that pass the evaluation are ready to volunteer in the many pet therapy programs around Jacksonville.
For more information go to our website: http://petpartnersjax.com/index.html.
​To reserve a spot for the next training sessions please contact Kristi Leonard at kleonard@petpartnersjax.com
or Colleen Whalen at cwhalen@bellsouth.net.
​Visit the Facebook page at facebook.com/PetPartnersJax.
Therapy Animal Coalition (TAC) site: http://therapyanimalcoalition.org/index.html