HPH Hospice to offer therapy dog testing

BROOKSVILLE - HPH Hospice (HPH) will offer the Canine Good Citizen test and Therapy Dog International (TDI) certification at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 3 inside its team office at 698 S. Broad Street in Brooksville.

A representative from TDI will conduct the exams. Dogs must be at least one-year-old, in good health and able to hear.

As the tests are provided by TDI, a $24 fee per dog/handler team is required. Complete information about the tests, canine health requirements and fees are available at www.tdi-dog.org. Tests are expected to continue into the afternoon and pre-registration is required; there is only space for 25 dogs. To register, call Anne Clarke, HPH volunteer coordinator, at 352-796-2611.

HPH encourages individuals who pass the TDI test with their canine to consider being part of its Compassionate Paws pet therapy program that began in 2004. Compassionate Paws volunteers who successfully complete a two-day hospice orientation and are then eligible, along with their canine friend, to visit HPH patients who reside in an assisted living facility, nursing home or at one of the nonprofit agency's Hospice Houses or Hospice Care Centers located in Hernando, Pasco or Citrus counties.