The Mayo Clinic is one of the most prestigious names in medicine. Since the original clinic started in Minnesota, more than 55,000 Mayo doctors now provide health care in Mayo facilities in Arizona, Florida, and the Midwest.
Canine Good Citizen Evaluator Karen Rude (of Rude Dog University in Eau Claire, WI) has taken her CGC students from CGC grads to therapy dogs.
They are visiting weekly at a Mayo Health hospital in Oncology, Neuro Trauma, Dialysis, and other units and waiting rooms. The dog owners have continued training with Karen so the dogs have learned skills beyond CGC.
When animal assisted therapy first began, the hardest setting to access was a hospital. There were many concerns about infection issues, and therapy dogs are still not allowed in many hospitals. Mayo has taken the position that the benefits of dogs outweigh any risks.
AKC's Canine Good Citizen and S.T.A.R. Puppy Director, Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist
