You can become a working member if you:
- fill in the Membership application form and Loyalty clause
- pay an annual contribution determined by the Council decision for each current year
- submit a Certificate of no Criminal Record
- sign the Confidentiality statement (in case of education for intern therapy pair)
- submit a report that your dog is not entered in the Register of dangerous dogs
- submit additional references or certificate on any completed educational programmes, etc.
All the documentation required shall be sent to the Institute’s headquarters; a special Membership Commission decides on the acceptance.
After the candidate has been accepted, a process of candidate’s education begins for obtaining a license for therapy pair of The Institute PET.
Procedure for obtaining a licence for therapy pair:
- testing of the dog (which must be at least 12 months old at the time of the testing)
- participation in general education programme, which consists of theoretical and practical parts
- after completion of the general education programme a practical training follows, where intern therapy pair is required to put in at least 25 hours of practical work in various institutions
- after completion of the practical training and submission of documents, the intern therapy pair takes a theoretical and practical exam in order to obtain the title therapy pair. The examination is carried out in one of the institutions in which therapy pairs are operating. The theoretical part is done in writing, while the practical part of the exam is the actual performance of work with a dog.
After the successful completion of all the stages of education, internship and examination, the intern therapy pair- the intern and its dog- obtains the title therapy pair and thus the license of the Institute PET to conduct therapy work, which is valid for two years. Dog-trainee can become a therapy dog at the age of two years.