Max is training to be a therapet!

Max is a 21 month old, Fox Red Labrador and he has recently begun training to be a ‘therapet’. Max belongs to our Fostering Support Worker Rachel Sweeney who qualified in April 2014 as an Animal Assisted Therapy Practitioner and worked with children with and her Therapet at the time Issie. Unfortunately, Issie developed health issues and pet therapy was put on hold. Max has been with Rachel since October 2018 when he was just 9 weeks old and heis a fun loving pup who loves affections and someone to play with.

In order to get him used to busy environments, Max had been visiting our Burnley office and recently started training with the help of our young people. One young person’s feedback was “I hope we get to use him again because he is a really good and funny dog, thank you.” Another young person commented “I loved it, every minute I was with him was so funny I could not stop laughing.”

The short term plan is for Max to finish his training and continue to be able to support children and young people at Excel Fostering. We’re sure he will become a very popular member of the team!

Animal Assisted Therapy utilises the unconditional relationship qualities of animals to enrich therapeutic experiences. The human-canine team work to enhance the child’s social, emotional and cognitive functioning. The bond between a child and animal is natural, non-judgemental and teaches empathy and compassion. It can also support children with a host of other skills such as; fine motor, gross motor, sensory regulation, emotional regulation and social skills to name a few.

We will keep you posted on Max’s training and progress. Hopefully you’ll all meet him soon!