Therapy dog certification and insurance

I spoke with A. on Tuesday and it was mentioned that A. does not have a certification on file for Patch, my dog.  I explained to A. that while my dog was at one time certified as a pet therapy dog through Therapy Dog, Inc. based in Wyoming and tested by a professor in the Rec and Leisure department at USM during 2010, the certification lapsed because I did not pay the fees.

However, I assume that all the certification is good for is that the dog is insured during visits.  Whereas I will be incorporating my dog into a W2 or 1099 position, Therapy Dog Inc. does not insure the certification of a dog at a W2 or 1099 work situation, only if a dog is volunteering.

So, since I am to be a paid employee utilising a therapy dog and that is the plan, I called my insurance company out of South Paris about insurance for my working therapy dog in the unlikely event that something goes awry.  I am waiting for the insurance agent to call me back.  

I explained everything to the insurance agent and directed the insurance agent to the nature of Patch and my work in volunteering and potentially working in a W2 by providing the peersponsorship.blogspot.com URL to which the insurance agent navigated while on the phone to me stating to me that essentially what my dog and I do is visit children and the elderly and that she had to factor how much it would cost in insurance to utilise a therapy dog in a W2 or 1099 position visiting people.

Updated Letter to MV:

"Peer Support with Therapy Dog & Sponsorship" is my concept of what I would like to do as paid employment.  In 2010, I attend training in Augusta to be a Certified Peer Support Specialist and in the same year, 2010, undergo training sessions with my dog "Patch" to certify Patch as a therapy dog. "Patch, the dog," is the only dog out of the group of dogs who passes tests proctored by a professor in the Recreation and Leisure Department at the University of Southern Maine.

Patch and myself visit a children's ward in a hospital once per week for a six month duration during 2010 and also visit six different retirement facilities in the State of Maine between 2010 and 2013 for a total of logged visits at about 75 visits to different facilities.  PSWTD is not new to me as during 1998-1999, my previous dog "Russ" and myself visit a retirement facility in West paris, ME once per week for approximately one year. 

The "sponsorship" part of the PSWTD is also my brainchild as a way to help pay for expenses related to the dog's well being and performing the visits.  "Sponsorship" consists of soliciting contributions from people in the community for visits.  While I manage to solicit some funds for Patch and my visits from some people, it is difficult to solicit contributions without the ability to issue a tax deductible receipt.  To issue a tax deductible receipt for contributions (as I find out), I must form a 501c organisation or else be sponsored by a 501c organisation.  Unfortunately, I am neither able to form a 501c nor secure a W2 or 1099 position with a 501c so as to be able to issue a tax deductible receipt for contributions.

Further and on the broader subject of what is and is not considered a "therapy dog," there are inconsistencies with what one organisation considers a therapy dog from another organisation due to the fact that there is no national registry of therapy dogs.  

For example, of the six retirement facilities that I visit in the State of Maine over the years: staff at facilities have different requirements for therapy dogs.  At one facility in Portland, ME upon initial visiting, staff does not require any paper work so that I insist that staff photocopy my ID and the dog's shot records.  Other facilities only require the dog's shot records and I always insist that staff photocopy my ID.  No facility requires that a dog undergo training in pet therapy for certification.  The 501c that offers the certificate in pet therapy is in Wyoming, USA.  Probably the most absurd anomaly about the system for registering a pet therapy dog is that the City of Portland and the University of Southern Maine only consider a dog a pet therapy dog if a doctor signs a note in spite of a current pet therapy dog certificate in training, which leaves me wondering if I could have a doctor sign a note for a pet therapy duck: as to the sense it makes to me about what a doctor knows concerning dogs.

Lastly, PSWTD is an act that my dog and I perform on visits with the objective of spreading good humour, smiles, warm feelings, witty quips and a generally good time in what might otherwise be a low point in the peoples' lives whom we visit.  Two examples are of Patch on a 95yo patient's bedside whose reaction to Patch on her bed was a wide grin and probably the only utterance the 95yo could utter, which is an "aaaawww" while petting Patch for at least ten minutes during the visit.  Another visit is at a children's ward at a hospital and a child of four or five is outside, but must go "potty" before he is able to pet the dog.  The boy races in the go "potty" at behest of staff orders and emerges from his room on the ward to see Patch, the dog, with his knees buckling in ecstatic excitement to pet Patch.

Finally, I look forward to an endeavour whereby I may incorporate my therapy dog Patch into paid employment working with a variety of individuals in the community: especially the elderly, homeless and refugee populations bearing in mind different peoples' reactions or perspectives of dogs and whether Patch and I are an accepted modality by a client or another for what the objective of Peer Support w/ Therapy Dog is: spreading good humour, smiles, warm feelings, witty quips and a generally good time in what might otherwise be a low point in the peoples' lives whom we visit.

Thank you, –JSB–

RE: "Peer Support w/ Therapy Dog & Sponsorship"

RE: "Peer Support w/ Therapy Dog & Sponsorship"
PO BOX 5049, Portland, ME 04101;
207-200-4370;
"j.s.b.1973.2012@gmail.com" (PayPal email) http://peersponsorship.blogspot.com

To Potential Sponsor(s) / Employer(s):

Peer support w/ Therapy Dog consists of visiting retirement facilities and facilities of need: such as children's wards providing comfort and entertainment in an act like atmosphere, accompanied by my trained, pet therapy dog.  I perform an "act" for an hour (per visit) dressed as a clown (or otherwise appropriate for occasion) with my trained, pet therapy dog who is also dressed for a part, which in turn provides comfort and entertainment to those in need of companionship: i.e. need for a 'pet' and/or an empathetic ear.

Visiting facilities of need is rewarding work and Patch, the dog and I have performed about 75 visits since 2010.  (My previous dog and I also performed visits).  However, my trained, pet therapy dog and I have need of community solicited contributions that are tax deductible with receipts for those who contribute to our visits.  A reason for soliciting visit funds is costs of Patch at the Vet, transport, my act, dog food consumed every year and "unforeseen misfortune insurance:” both for myself as “handicap” and for "Patch, the dog."

In order to solicit tax deductible contributions via various platforms for Peer Support w/ Therapy Dog & Sponsorship whereby my therapy dog and I visit facilities of need providing comfort and entertainment to citizens in an otherwise incapacitated and/or isolated state of living: I have to either establish a non-profit 501c or be employed on a "W-2 or 1099 IRS” basis by a 501c, non-profit organization (or, private to public entity employment) interested in developing "Peer Support w/ Therapy Dog & Sponsorship" as a project.

I propose that {organization(s)/individual(s)} sponsor my trained, pet therapy dog and me as W-2 and/or 1099 compliant employees so that I am able to solicit contributions with tax deductible receipts via various platforms in community speech and/or earn a W-2 for visits through public or private entity employment means.

In turn, my dog and I will visit with a goal of five hours per week to facilities of need in and around our community at a nominal project rate under auspices of "Peer Support w/ Therapy Dog & Sponsorship" and agreement as "Peers" in a 1099 or W-2 sponsorship employ.

Please contact me at the above addresses and number about sponsorship employment.  Thanks!  -JB-