Handler's Course
Learn the skills you need to visit safely with your animal in hospitals, nursing homes, classrooms, and other facilities by completing the Handler's Course.
Topics Include:
● How to tell if both you and your animal are a good fit to be a therapy team.
● Preparing yourself and your animal for visits.
● Identifying and decreasing stress in your animal.
● Animal health and safety.
● Special needs of specific client groups.
● How to interact respectfully with different client populations.
● Facility health and safety codes.
● Patient confidentiality.
You need to complete the course in at one of the formats offered. To successfully complete either the in person workshop or the online Pet Partners Handler Course, participants will need to pass an online assessment within one year after taking the course and attempt an evaluation within two years. Documentation of the completion of this course, whether instructor-led workshop or online format, is required for a team to evaluate.
Attend a Workshop Taught by a
Pet Partners® Licensed Instructor
Advantages of attending the workshop include:
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hands on visitation practice
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detailed explanation of the team evaluation
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immediate feedback on any questions
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handler manual full of policies, procedures, tips, techniques
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people who take the in person class have a higher rate of passing the team evaluation on their first attempt
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being with members of PPCNY helps students gain confidence for their evaluation and future visitations as well as build a relationship with members
This workshop is for the human-end of the leash only.
You must register for the class through the national website.
The fee for an in person workshop is $35.
Next Handlers workshop is scheduled for:
April 1, 2023
in the Syracuse area
For more workshop and/or payment information,
please go to Contact Us.
(Financial assistance is available.)
To Register For An In-person Workshop:
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On the national website (petpartners.org) click on the Volunteer Center and login.
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Go to My Registration on the right under Volunteer Center Menu and resume your TEAM REGISTRATION.
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At the Handler Course step; click Register for a Course; this will take you to the Training Center.
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Click on SIGN UP in the menu bar; choose Calendar under Browse Events on left.
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Go to the desired date and be sure to select the Therapy Animal Handler Workshop for Syracuse.
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Register and check out. No money is due at this time.
Complete the Online Handler's Course
For handlers who cannot attend a workshop, an online version of
the Pet Partners Team Training Course is available. The course includes a student guide with suggestions for activities that will help
handlers learn the necessary skills and registration materials.
The fee for the on-line course is $80
To Register For The Online Curse:
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On the national website (petpartners.org) click on the Volunteer Center and login.
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Go to the Training Center; click on SIGN UP in the menu bar;
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Choose Therapy Animal Handler Online Course on the left under Available Items;
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Add to cart and Checkout.