Thor

Meet Thor, Amy and Mitchell's personal dog.  Amy incorporates her dog, Thor, into her psychotherapy work. She believes his presence benefits her clients & there are scientific studies to back her up. The use of animals by health professionals in their work is called animal assisted therapy. Numerous studies that show that interacting with animals helps people lower their blood pressure, increases engagement & reduces anxiety & depression. This page outlines the risks & rules needed to ensure your health & safety (as well as Thor’s)as we work together. Thor and Amy have gone through a training to learn manners and commands needed to be a therapy dog.

What you need to know: 

1. You may opt to not have Thor in your sessions. 

2. While Thor has been screened by a veterinarian before commencing work as a therapy animal, animals do sometimes carry disease. Because your contact is minimal, this risk is very small. Thor is up to date on all his vaccinations. 

3. Thor is not a hypoallergenic dog so there may be a risk of an allergic reaction. Please let Amy know if you typically have allergies to animals. 

4. If you or your child have a fear of dogs (however mild) then animal assisted therapy may not be appropriate for you. Let’s discuss potential risks & benefits prior to the start of our work together. 

5. As Thor’s handler & therapist, Amy will be looking out for your welfare as well as his. However, it is important to remember that Thor is an animal & as such can be unpredictable. Thor is a gentle dog & affectionate dog, however, scratches, jumping, mouthing & unwanted kisses are all possible, especially when first getting to know you.  It is appropriate to set your boundaries of what is acceptable behavior around you.           

6. Animals have individual rights, just as each client has rights. Thor gets to decide how & when he participates in the sessions. It is important for everyone’s benefit (as well as safety) that he is not coerced or mistreated. He typically greets people enthusiastically & then sleeps.  He does love tug o war and chewing on his bone.

7. Clients may not bring their own animal to also be involved in their therapy session. Let me know if you wish me to meet your animal, I can arrange for Thor to be elsewhere during that session. 

8. Confidentiality is important to Thor. He won’t talk about you, but it is possible he may recognize you outside of a session. Don’t worry he is friendly with most people, so no one needs to know that he knows you from our work together.