Working Like A Dog…Service, Therapy, ESD, or Pet?

In today’s society, people spend time with their dogs at work and in their personal lives more than ever. We see many dogs throughout the day with their owners in public, on airplanes, and in restaurants. It is now considered the norm. The lines and laws between service dogs, therapy dogs, emotional support dogs, and pets have become ambiguous and blurred. Unfortunately, this is leading to inappropriately-behaved animals that are infringing on the safety of those whose dogs provide critical tasks in their everyday life.

Join Laurie Volpe to unravel the ABC’s of state and federal laws and the individual rolls each dog plays in our society today with Jessie Clifford, Director of Humane Education for The Humane Society of the Treasure Coast.

Learn more about Certified Service Dog Trainer for Canine Specialty Training and Founder of Stuart Pet Pals, Laurie Volpe:
Laurie has enjoyed living and operating her training company on the Treasure Coast for 12 years. She has earned 5 Service Dog Training Certifications by a national service dog instructor training school and currently works as a Field Training Specialist for Two Assistance Dog Agencies. Laurie's passion and expertise is training Medical Alert Service Dogs including Diabetic Alert Dogs, Gluten Detection, and Seizure Alert & Response Dogs. When she is not training these working dogs, Laurie enjoys training and competing in AKC, USCSS, and NACSW Scent Work for sport. Laurie also teaches and trains at Draxen Farms, a local all-breed Sheep Herding facility with her Australian Shepherds. For the past two years, Laurie and her Aussie Luke have enjoyed giving back to our local community doing Pet Therapy with Misty's Pals.

Learn more about Misty’s Pals Pet Therapy Program:
HSTC offers several programs that positively affect animals within our community. The Humane Education Department is a program that influences not only animals, but the people who are exposed to the volunteers of Misty’s Pals. Misty’s Pals Pet Therapy Volunteers touch lives and improve health through specific pet therapy programs for the elderly, the sick and injured, special needs children, and more. Their goal is to help people improve their social, emotional, and cognitive functioning. Each year, these Pet Therapy volunteers take their trained therapy dogs into local hospitals and nursing homes to spread joy to patients, visiting family members, and staff. They also spend time each month teaching children hands-on humane education lessons that can change the way children see their pets.

There is no fee for this educational event, but donations are being collected for the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast.