Recently we sat down with Kate Buhrmaster and Michelle Miller, two of the women who run the Amerman Family Foundation Dog Therapy Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. We talked about the unique attributes of CHLA’s program (130 teams!), the remarkable way they support therapy dog teams long before testing, and the incredible impact this program has on CHLA’s patients, their families, and staff.
Aly and I I left the conversation astonished by the scope of the program and inspired by the profound kindness on which it is built. These are good people doing good work.
If this conversation leaves you wondering whether you and your dog might do this someday, two good starting points came up: the AKC Canine Good Citizen test, a solid foundation of manners and temperament that many therapy programs build on, and Pet Partners, the national organization whose certification CHLA requires of every team. You can learn about volunteering with CHLA specifically here.
I think you’ll enjoy this conversation as much as we did. (And if so, please leave a comment for Kate and Michelle below, as the best way we can let them know how much we appreciate their time is to simply tell them).
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