{"id":25258,"date":"2026-08-06T16:59:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T14:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therapiedier.be\/?page_id=25258"},"modified":"2026-08-06T16:59:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T14:59:19","slug":"therapy-dogs-in-care-and-welfare","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/therapiedier.be\/en\/therapiehonden-in-zorg-en-welzijn\/","title":{"rendered":"Therapy dogs in health and social care"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Professional support with attention to people, animals, and the care context.<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A therapy dog, together with a trained handler, can contribute to well-being, social connection, motivation, and a warm care environment. This intervention does not replace medical or therapeutic treatment and is always coordinated with the professionals involved.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Possible care contexts<\/h2><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>residential care centers and dementia care;<\/li><li>hospitals and pediatric wards;<\/li><li>rehabilitation centers;<\/li><li>mental health care;<\/li><li>facilities for persons with disabilities;<\/li><li>youth care and supported living;<\/li><li>palliative care and day care centers.<\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does this demand of a team?<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Healthcare environments can be busy, emotional, and unpredictable. A therapy animal team must be able to handle medical equipment, unexpected sounds, intense emotions, and changing contacts. The handler monitors working hours, rest, hygiene, safety, and professional boundaries.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Training and certification<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Therapiedier vzw organizes the professional training and assesses cooperation, animal welfare, safety, and suitability for the chosen care context. Toscanzahoeve acts as a supporting partner in terms of content and practical application. Evaluations follow established criteria and transparent procedures.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Advice for healthcare organizations<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We support organizations with risk analysis, policy, infection prevention, implementation, staff training, and follow-up. This embeds operations into care practice rather than relying on loose agreements.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Professional support with attention to people, animals, and the care context. A therapy dog, together with a trained handler, can contribute to well-being, social connection, motivation, and a warm care environment. The intervention does not replace medical or therapeutic treatment and is always coordinated with the professionals involved. Possible care contexts: residential care centers and dementia care; hospitals and children's wards; rehabilitation centers; mental healthcare; facilities \u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-25258","page","type-page","status-publish","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapiedier.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapiedier.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapiedier.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapiedier.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapiedier.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25258"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/therapiedier.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25334,"href":"https:\/\/therapiedier.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25258\/revisions\/25334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapiedier.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25258"}],"curies":[{"name":"WP","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}