09/05/2026
I’m so excited for the opportunity to collaborate with Sarah and present at the Colorado OT Conference! 🐾💙
We’ll be diving into an important topic that continues to create a lot of confusion—not only for the general public, but within healthcare and therapeutic settings as well:
🐕🦺 Service Dogs vs. Therapy Dogs vs. Emotional Support Animals in Therapy
We’ll be talking about the differences between each, the roles they can appropriately play within occupational therapy and other therapeutic environments, and why understanding those distinctions matters for both professionals and the people they serve.
I absolutely love opportunities where the dog-training and healthcare worlds can come together through education. The more professionals understand what these dogs are trained to do—and what their roles and limitations actually are—the better we can support legitimate working teams and thoughtfully incorporate animals into therapeutic settings.
I’m incredibly excited to share my knowledge and experience in service dog training alongside Sarah’s expertise and perspective from the OT world.
Colorado OT Conference, here we come! 🐾
Presenter: Sarah Hauser, MA OTR/L
Presenter Bio: Sarah Hauser is a licensed and registered Occupational Therapist and the owner of Bloom2Function – Mobile Occupational Therapy Services. Her passion for animal-assisted therapy began during her undergraduate OT studies and was inspired by a lifelong love of dogs, having grown up in Switzerland surrounded by them. She later worked alongside her own therapy dog, further deepening her understanding of the therapeutic power of the human–animal bond. Sarah moved to the United States to earn her Master’s degree from the University of Southern California, graduating in 2011. She has worked in diverse settings from pediatrics to geriatrics, with a special passion for providing services in clients’ homes, where natural environments promote independence, comfort, and meaningful engagement in daily life.
Co-Presenter:
Aleisha Largent, Certified Canine Behaviorist & Professional Trainer, CPDT-KA (will not be present at conference)
Co-Presenter Bio: Aleisha Largent is the founder and head trainer of Covenant Keeper’s K9 Training Facility and Loyal Guardians Service Dogs, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving veterans, children, and civilians across the Western Slope of Colorado. She began training dogs through 4-H for competition in 2001 and transitioned into professional training, later specializing in service dog development in 2019. Her expertise includes service dog training, behavior rehabilitation, public access preparation, and ethical handler education. Aleisha has successfully trained and placed fully trained service dogs and has guided numerous owner/trainers through graduation. She is the only certified canine behaviorist on the Western Slope who consults on legal and court-related canine behavior cases. Aleisha is passionate about educating professionals on working dog distinctions to ensure safe, ethical, and legally compliant integration into therapeutic settings.
View more details of this session, and every session at this link: https://www.otacco.org/Conference-Presentation-Descriptions
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