For many years, volunteers have been bringing gentle dogs, cats and other pets into hospitals and homes to give love and joy to people who need it most. Interacting with a pet can be very therapeutic, both psychologically and physically, for senior citizens, as well as people with emotional difficulties. If you think that this sort of volunteer work would be a good match for you and your dog, there are a number of things you can do to prepare.

Daniela Ortner is the founder and Executive Director of Create-A-Smile, an animal therapy organization that trains and certifies animals and handlers for therapy sessions at hospitals, nursing homes and battered women shelters. She has a master's degree in clinical psychology and is pursuing her PHD in the same subject. Here she offers a guide to help dog owners prepare their animals for pet therapy:

• Take an obedience class.
  The first step is to take a basic obedience class. It's very important to expose your dog to only positive reinforcement methods, like voice control, praise and petting.
  
• Get your dog used to people.
  Socializing your dog is very, very important. A good training ground is always an open mall, as this will expose the dog to a large number of people.
  
• No jumping.
  It's important that your dog does not jump on people in a way of greeting them. Your dog must also greet other animals in a relaxed manner.
  
• Training is essential.
  Fifty percent of a dog's ability to be four legged therapists is instinctive. The other fifty percent is really about nurturing and training and this is where you can make the difference by signing up for a class for you and your dog.
  
• Pets love to help.
  Pets are naturally drawn to helping people, especially people in need, so make the most of this natural instinct and help your dog become a healer.

For more information about animal assisted therapy, check out the following organizations or websites:

Create-A-Smile
www.create-a-smile.org

Animal Therapy.net
www.animaltherapy.net

Dog-Play: Therapy Dogs and Visiting Pets
www.dog-play.com/therapy

Delta Society: Therapy Animals: Programs and Services
www.deltasociety.org/aaat

Censhare: Animal Assisted Therapy
www.censhare.umn.edu

Next: Blessing of the Beasts