General Information About Becoming a Member
Faithful Paws is a non-profit organization, and we are 100% volunteers. We give our time and the joy our pet brings to requesting facilities. All of the therapy animals are our own personal pets who have gone through certification and testing to be allowed to visit these facilities. Faithful Paws visits facilities that have requested us in a manner that follows our purpose: To administer unconditional love and therapy to people of all ages in nursing homes and hospitals. We also assist in literacy programs for children as well as stress relief for adults.
Membership requirements:
- Once certified, you can immediately start visiting at any of our Faithful Paws scheduled visits if you meet the requirements for those visits. With 100-150 monthly visits, there is something for every volunteer, and you will enjoy going to different venues. Most of our visits are during the daytime on weekdays and weekends.
- Up-to-date on all vaccinations and an annual vet examination
- Many facilities require COVID vaccinations
- Fees:
- If new, a non-refundable registration fee
- If already a member, annual membership dues
- If member with lapsed membership, re-evaluation and fees may apply
On a monthly basis, we visit hospitals and assisted living facilities as well as elementary schools and libraries (to promote literacy). We also provide one-time visits for requests that are in line with our purpose.
Important things to note:
- Therapy animals and service animals are different. Service animals are animals that are specially trained to help a person with disabilities and are to be focused solely on that one person. Therapy pets are animals that volunteer with their owners to improve the lives of others. Therapy pets are NOT service animals, and they do not have the same public access as service animals.
- Pets are only therapy pets when they are a member of a therapy organization and they are visiting a facility with approval of the therapy organization.
- For additional information, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions
Click here to apply to become a member of Faithful Paws!