Tickets available for 4th annual National Dog Show Therapy Dog Symposium at Rowan University

Tickets are available for Rowan University’s 4^th annual National Dog Show Therapy Dog Symposium, a daylong event for therapy dog handlers, health care experts, researchers and people who simply love dogs.

The program, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, takes place in partnership with the National Dog Show, which was broadcast nationally following the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC. It will be co-hosted by National Dog Show host David Frei and Michele Pich, assistant director of Rowan’s Shreiber Family Pet Therapy Program.

The symposium’s line-up of speakers includes Dr. Risë VanFleet, president of the International Association of Animal Assisted Play Therapy, along with professional dog trainers, veterinarians and human health professionals.

Pich, who began the symposium in 2019, said it returns to the Eynon Ballroom in the Chamberlain Student Center on Rowan’s Glassboro campus this year as a hybrid, in-person/virtual event. Tickets are $50 in-person (including lunch), $25 to attend virtually and $25 for students.

“We’re excited to offer an in-person program for several reasons,” Pich said. “Being there live, with other animal-assisted therapy providers and dog lovers is very impactful, and there are great networking opportunities.”

Pich said Rowan’s pet therapy program, which began in 2019, features more than 20 registered therapy dogs with certified handlers who provide comfort and a source of calmness and anxiety relief on all of Rowan’s academic and medical campuses as well as at Rowan College of Burlington County.

She said dogs are innately good at providing therapeutic comfort to people and there’s a large and growing need for pet therapy providers and their animals.

“Dogs are very intuitive,” Pich said. “They’re one of the few species that can look you in the eye and connect in the same way that humans do.”

Pich said anyone interested in animal-assisted therapy is encouraged to attend the symposium, from working therapists and students to average dog owners seeking a deeper understanding of canine behavior.

Animal-assisted interventions comprise a growing segment of therapy practices and research shows their effect on patients can include anxiety relief as well as help for an array of conditions, including for patients with PTSD, in hospitals, nursing homes and other medical settings.

The symposium is a human-only event but attendees who require the assistance of service dogs are welcome to bring them.

Register today.