About BISHPets
BISHPets is an animal assisted activity/animal assisted therapy (AAA/AAT) program at Brain Injury Services. The experienced BISHPets evaluation team assesses and supports skilled teams of volunteers and their own pets as they visit our clients and perform community outreach. BISHPet teams are welcome at all services from St. Catharines to Brantford.
BISHPets has partnered with the Hamilton Central Public Library on Paws for Reading, a popular children’s literacy-assistance program, since 2005. A retired BISHPet favourite - Read about Dudley’s BISHPets experiences at the Central Library!
Read about Dudley’s BISHPets experiences at the Central Library - A retired BISHPet favourite!
Please complete the online application form. Following your submission of the form we will let you know which positions fit your interests and availability, and schedule an interview to discuss volunteering at BIS. The online application can be found here: Volunteer Application Form.
The Evaluation:
Please take a moment to review the BISHPet video.
Potential BISHPet teams must attend an evaluation in order to qualify to be an AAA/AAT volunteer team.
During the evaluation the handler and pet team will complete a series of activities designed to determine:
That the handler is able to support their pet during activities that may occur while volunteering with our clients.
That both the handler and animal role model positive behaviour and both enjoy appropriate social interaction.
That both the handler and animal can follow directions. (For the handler this will be demonstrated by bringing the correct paperwork and items to the evaluation and following the evaluator’s instructions. For the animal this will mean demonstrating basic obedience.)
Please ask for a copy of the “Becoming a BISHPet Team” booklet if you would like more details.
About the Evaluators:
The program was developed in recognition of the philosophies of a number of internationally and nationally-recognized organizations. It has been implemented with researched best practices and includes an evaluation to test the social skills and focus of the handler and their personal pet. Successful BISHPet teams may engage in friendly visiting (Called animal assisted activity or AAA) or support a therapy initiative implemented by a therapist such as a speech therapist or a kinesiologist (Called animal assisted therapy or AAT).
Each test is performed by a team of evaluators and experienced BISHPet partners as evaluation assistants. It follows specific guidelines with a score card and takes about 20 minutes. The results are reviewed with the handler following the test.
Contact Us:
For further information regarding volunteering at Brain Injury Services please contact the Coordinator Volunteer Services at 905-523-8852 ext. 274.
