Aspire Counselling and Psychology Inc.

Therapy Dog

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Garnet is a trained guide dog and provided excellent service to his previous handler who was visually impaired. Sadly, his handler passed away when Garnet was 7, and so he needed a new home and job. Due to his age, Garnet could not be placed with another visually impaired handler (guide dogs usually retire at 10 years old), and so the service agency asked Dawn if she would be able to work with him. Recognizing the benefit to clients, Dawn took the training required to be a service dog handler, and they’ve been a team ever since. 
While the benefits of Garnet's calm and gentle demeanour in the therapy room were expected, the benefit to the practice as a whole was not. Garnet provides a warm welcome to other psychologists coming in to start their work day, and provides quiet, non-intrusive support to clients waiting for an appointment.