Celebrities are people, too, and sometimes they have therapy dogs. There are plenty of celebrities who have them, and just like regular therapy dogs, they’re the best-behaved, sweetest pups on the planet!
Jennifer Garner recently had a Golden Retriever become a therapy dog. On Wednesday, February 28th, she told the story for all to hear:
WeRateDogs is too pure for this world. As far as Birdie goes, 1000/10!
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Jennifer Garner took a walk around the block with WeRateDogs to talk about her pets, of which she has many, and then she says that her 8 year old Golden Retriever, Birdie, has recently been promoted to service dog. Since they’re based in Los Angeles, Birdie will be working closely with a children’s hospital in the area to bring some joy to kids who have to stay there.
The training for therapy dogs is actually not much different to training for other types of service dogs. Under California state law, no service dog of any kind has to wear a vest/carry ID, but most handlers choose to in order to avoid conflict. Whether that’s a therapy dog or a service dog doesn’t matter: the type of service the dog provides doesn’t need to be disclosed.
Many people get service dogs because they have mental conditions themselves like anxiety or PTSD. Kristen Chenoweth has a personal service dog! Others, like Jennifer Garner, have service dogs to help others. In her situation, the dog will mostly be sitting and getting pets from the kids and parents in the hospital.
Can any dog be a therapy dog?
Service dogs in general don’t have breed requirements, but there are some “best practices” that handlers follow. For example, guide dogs for the visually impaired are always bigger breeds like German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Bernese Mountain Dogs, or Labrador Retrievers. The most common service dog breeds are larger, because they command authority. If something goes wrong, people are more likely to listen to them.
Therapy dogs often follow this same pattern: they’re usually trained in deep pressure therapy, and there needs to be some weight to them for that to work. However, there’s a little bit of wiggle room there, and some people train their smaller breeds to be therapy dogs. Generally, a dog just needs to be:
- A good listener.
- Non-reactive.
- Not easily overstimulated.
A dog can become a therapy dog at any age: Birdie is 8! Though they do go through some training, it’s not quite as intensive as some other services. Rescues can be therapy dogs, too! Congratulations of your promotion, Birdie!
