Is Pawsitive Horizons for you?
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POPULATIONS SERVED
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SERVICE OVERVIEW
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CURRENT PROGRAMS
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DEVELOPMENT
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Pawsitive Horizons offers a variety of services centred on intervention canines (IC) and canine assisted intervention (CAI) programs. The versatility and plethora of CAI lends it to be effective across a variety of applications, including, but not limited to, education environments; substance abuse rehabilitation; corrective justice programs, including parole and community integration; hospital and retirement home visitation; autism programs; services for victims of trauma; crisis and trauma response; and intervention/therapy for persons with depression and/or anxiety. The unique qualities of the human-canine bond, which lend to client(s) involved typically experiencing a sense of unconditional, non-evaluative bond, can produce relief of anxiety, a sense of safety, and engagement. Such features of CAI are effective in producing program adherence, motivation, and report, thereby making CAI an efficacious intervention for treatment-resistant populations.
What we do
Pawsitive Horizons trains and evaluates therapy canines, develops and implements Canine Assisted Intervention (CAI), programs, and provides therapy canines and handlers for hire depending on program or client needs. Pawsitive Horizons’ dogs are implemented in a variety of contexts from autism support to Corrections Services Canada.
Whether your needs are a therapy canine in the classroom or the scene of an emergency, we tailor the training of all our handlers and dogs to meet the unique needs of our clients. In the context of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI), our therapy dogs provide a service to a third person(s) under the supervision or direction of a trained handler, regardless of whether the handler or the third person(s) has a disability.
Whether your needs are a therapy canine in the classroom or the scene of an emergency, we tailor the training of all our handlers and dogs to meet the unique needs of our clients. In the context of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI), our therapy dogs provide a service to a third person(s) under the supervision or direction of a trained handler, regardless of whether the handler or the third person(s) has a disability.
service dogs
CAI dogs are frequently referred to as 'therapy dogs', but it is important to bear in mind that they are not service dogs. The term 'therapy' among other terminologies used in this growing field need to defined because the term therapy currently encompasses both clinical and non-clinical applications. Service dogs on the other hand are dogs that have been task-trained to provide assistance to a person with a disability.
STANDARDS of Practice
The emerging field of Animal-Assisted Services (AAS) is not regulated by the government and there are no collective provincial, territorial, Canadian, or global industry benchmarks within the marketplace for the certification of trainers, assessors, accreditation of organizations, or terminologies. There are however a myriad of private company standards or practices and peer-review processes in place that determine or imply brand performance.
For these reasons Pawsitive Horizons ongoing program develop is rooted in evidence-based practices which include, but are not limited to engaging ongoing professional development like the successful completion of the Commit to Kids Program to ensure the safety of our clients.
Furthermore, our standards of practice include internal processes, procedures, and policies that reflect our ethics and values, and training requirements. Our business partners are of like mind putting end-users and the welfare of our canines first to ensure quality and public safety.
Forging a Canadian Footprint within a Vibrant and Promising Field
We would like to acknowledge The Canadian Foundation for Animal-Assisted Support Services (CFAS) for its ongoing efforts to bring the industry together as a whole to enhance the lives of vulnerable populations, to ensure the welfare of animals in service, and to establish a credibility chain within this burgeoning field to promote quality assurance, while building public confidence. For more information please visit CFAS.
For these reasons Pawsitive Horizons ongoing program develop is rooted in evidence-based practices which include, but are not limited to engaging ongoing professional development like the successful completion of the Commit to Kids Program to ensure the safety of our clients.
Furthermore, our standards of practice include internal processes, procedures, and policies that reflect our ethics and values, and training requirements. Our business partners are of like mind putting end-users and the welfare of our canines first to ensure quality and public safety.
Forging a Canadian Footprint within a Vibrant and Promising Field
We would like to acknowledge The Canadian Foundation for Animal-Assisted Support Services (CFAS) for its ongoing efforts to bring the industry together as a whole to enhance the lives of vulnerable populations, to ensure the welfare of animals in service, and to establish a credibility chain within this burgeoning field to promote quality assurance, while building public confidence. For more information please visit CFAS.