09/03/2026
What is a therapy dog?
A therapy dog is a dog trained and evaluated to provide comfort, affection and emotional support to people other than their own family, often in places like schools, hospitals, nursing homes and community settings. Unlike a service dog, their job isn’t to perform a specific task for one person. Their gift is their presence.
And that takes a very particular kind of dog.
A good therapy dog is calm and gentle. Comfortable with strangers. Confident in unfamiliar environments. Able to accept touch without becoming overwhelmed. They aren’t easily startled, they listen to their handler, and just as importantly, they know how to interact with people without demanding interaction from them.
Kimber embodies this so beautifully.
Watch how she moves through this event. She isn’t pulling toward people or insisting that everyone pet her. She calmly walks around, paying attention, waiting for someone to signal that they’d like her attention.
When they do, she comes in softly and allows the love. She settles. She stays. And when they’re finished, she simply moves along until someone else invites her in.
Never forceful. Never frantic. Just this incredibly calm, grounding presence.
THAT is what I love about a great therapy dog. It’s not simply a dog who loves people. It’s a dog who can read the room, regulate herself and meet people where they are.
And our girl did all of this while PREGNANT. 🥹
Kimber’s little ones are due in just 9-11 more days, and watching their mama work makes us even more excited about what’s coming. Temperament matters so deeply to us, and these are exactly the qualities we know she’ll pass down to her babies.
We are so blessed to have Kimber in our program 🐾💛
