Connie – Trauma/Intervention Dog
According to the Mayo clinic ‘Animal assisted therapy can help healing”. Spending time with a Trauma/Intervention Dog can be significant in aiding the physical, mental, emotional and social aspects of a person’s well being.
Connie is a Labrador Retreiver, trained as a Trauma/Intervention Dog, and her qualified handler is Neta Kirby.
Contact with Connie may involve playing, being beside or just being in the room with her and Neta. The gentle and supportive Connie will not ask questions, will not judge a person or their actions, and will not tell their secrets. She is there to be a supportive, non-judgmental presence.
Connie works alongside people of all ages and in many different settings. She has been into hospitals and she has been a welcome presence to those who have suffered trauma and grief. Connie has helped to reduce stress and anxiety with people who have suffered family violence.
Connie visits schools and kindergartens on a regular basis and participates in a number of activities. For example, games usually involving a ball, book reading, being a pillow and she does enjoy digging in the sandpits alongside the children.
Connie and Neta have completed ‘K9 Support Therapy Dog Intensive 2016’. The certificate states that as a working team they have passed the required practical and theoretical assessments. They are certified as a safe and stable team to work within a private or public setting. (Tessa Stow -K9 Support. 15.12.2016)
Neta has completed Animal Assisted Play Therapy® (AAPT) Level 1 through the International Institute for Animal Assisted Play Therapy with Dr. Risë VanFleet (US) and Tracie Faa-Thompson (UK). Neta was to have completed AAPT Level 2 in the UK in 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic there was no overseas travel hence no face to face study. However supervision and further distance and on-line training with AAPT is continuing, until overseas travel is possible.
Crime victims: Canine support helps vulnerable witnesses
Weekly Times article about Neta and Connie assisting crime victims