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Delta Society would like to thank Purina for being a sponsor of the Pet Partners program.
One Pet Partner, Two Pet Partners, Three Pet Partners …Group?
Originally published in Pet Partners Newsletter, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2000
by Liz Teal
Where or how do you begin a Delta Pet Partners visiting group? Look at your community and see what needs you can fill. Create a clearly defined mission that is specific to the needs in your community and the needs of your volunteers. For example, your community may have a high percentage of cat owners and six adult senior daycare facilities within a 10-block radius of downtown. Only one daycare has a visiting Pet Partner team (and that team is you and your cat!). Your new group "Purrs for People" may develop a goal of providing Pet Partner cats to the downtown daycare facilities.
It is important to start small. C.J. Puotinen, coordinator of the Hudson Valley Humane Society Visiting Pet Partners group, suggests, "Picture your program in five years. What do you imagine? An informal group of six friends who visit the same facility every month? An ambitious program that has its own office, administrative staff, trainers, and fund raisers? How do you plan to recruit new members?"
Set goals toward where you see your group in the future and what outcomes you want to achieve. Be specific but allow for flexibility, to change as situations dictate.
Puotinen says "Focus your attention on a single facility or a single population. Many programs fail because they're too ambitious. Then … network! Get in touch with everyone in your area who is doing Animal Assisted Activity/ Therapy (AAA/T) and ask for their advice. Even if they don't respond, keep lines of communication open. Everyone who does AAA/T has successes, failures, problems, solutions and experiences to share. Maintain a friendly relationship with groups in your area and you can learn information that helps you avoid making common mistakes. As your program grows, you may be able to work with nearby groups in sponsoring seminars, conferences, training workshops, or other events that benefit everyone. Your plan, whether long term or short term, will help you stay focused and enable your group to fulfill its mission."
Cynthia Page, president of Delta Society Animal Ambassadors in San Antonio, a visiting Pet Partners group in Texas with over 200 members, reminds us: "Regardless of your size, you need space for training, large spaces for evaluations, and on a continuous basis, space for an office. Get your community involved in helping your group. Dog clubs, animal shelters and humane societies may be able to donate space for your workshops, evaluations, training and/or monthly group meetings.
Training
Build a foundation of resources for your group and your community. Have a member of your group become a Pet Partners Team Training Course Instructor or Team Evaluator. In this way, you can teach courses as often you like and it will help you build a strong group membership. In addition, a Team Evaluator can recertify Pet Partner teams. As your group grows, grow with it through continuing education training. Check the Delta web site for exciting educational opportunities.
Danni Sabia of Providence Animal-Assisted Activities/ Therapy, a visiting pet program in Olympia, WA, recommends you provide comprehensive training for your volunteers. "At the very least, I would recommend all volunteers become registered Pet Partners through Delta Society."
Puotinen concurs and adds, "Most first-time pet/handler teams are not quite ready for the Delta evaluation. Prepare your applicants. Some groups require applicants to make observation visits (without pets) to facilities to better understand the working conditions, and sponsor therapy pet training classes."
Sabia feels that additional training should be offered to address specific needs of the facilities and the populations you will be working with. Advanced handling workshops can be created as well. Consider developing additional screening evaluations to deal with specific needs within your group, such as multi-species group visits or unique facility challenges.
Pay careful attention to safety. Sabia notes, "Safety cannot be stressed enough: the safety of your human and animal volunteers and the safety of the people you are visiting. Be sure volunteers know how to recognize signs of stress in their animals - and know what to do about it. Be sure the physical environments you visit are safe for your teams. Be sure your teams are well screened and evaluated; be sure infection control policies are in place and followed. Don't allow yourself or the program to become lax about this most important issue." Develop volunteer contracts that include your group's safety protocols. Require all participants to read and sign them before beginning.
Overcoming Obstacles
As obstacles come up, stay focused on your group's mission and goals. Remember why you started a group in the first place. The more you understand the dynamics of groups, the more prepared you will be to handle the various difficulties you may encounter, from growing too fast too soon, to new members with new ideas, to internal conflict.
Maintenance
Groups require maintenance to stay together. Page suggests, "Provide group events for your volunteers. We have four fun meetings a year, a blessing of the animals and an annual picnic, and sponsor speakers the group might be interested in." Clearly this strategy has served them well since they have over 80 active teams! While you may never aspire to a group this large, the same dynamics apply to a group of 12.
An excellent resource to have is Starting a Visiting Animal Group (order at 360-493-7629). This new book guides you step by step through developing your mission, recruiting and training members, finding a facility, working with staff, managing the group and survival techniques!
Visiting with your pet is one of the most demanding, challenging, and rewarding volunteering you will ever do. Having a group to share the experience gives you credibility within your community, opportunities to share the times of joy, and the emotional strength to deal with the stressful moments.
So go out, start a group … just do it with your eyes open, and all your paws on the ground.
