Our Collaborative Animal Assisted Therapy program is a goal oriented Therapy Dogs program, working one on one with clinicians and beneficiaries, and we are seeking volunteers in the Sydney area ONLY where we are looking to partner with organisations to deliver the therapy to adults or older people.

Health professionals work in collaboration with a Therapy Dog Team (handler and their dog) and the adult or older person. The therapy dog is there to offer a calming presence, sometimes just to give and receive cuddles and pats, which helps the clinician to build rapport.

Sessions (visits) are usually weekly or fortnightly, depending on your availability, and scheduled at regular intervals and at a time that suits everyone. You would need to allow 3 hours for each session which includes travel time, briefings with the clinician, and the visit itself which is usually no more than 60 minutes.

To be accepted into the program, you and your dog would need to pass our entry level assessment, and if successful, another AAT assessment so that we know they're likely to enjoy the visits - animal welfare is our top priority! There's some self-paced online training involved for you at the outset, where you'd get to learn more about your dog via our Delta Institute AAT course.

Volunteers already involved in our AAT program say they enjoy getting to know their dogs better, and they're really enjoying helping to bring joy to people.

With your help we are going to significantly change the lives of even more program beneficiaries, and contribute to a new way of thinking amongst mental health specialists and other allied health professionals in the region.

If you’d like to know more, have a look at our Animal Assisted Therapy page on our Delta Therapy Dogs website.

You're also welcome to email us directly at debbie.sykes@deltatherapydogs.org.au.