‘Go Team Therapy Dogs’: A Colorado non-profit is in need of more volunteers
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- There is a growing need for therapy dogs in southern Colorado.
"Go Team Therapy Dogs" is a Colorado non-profit that is frequently searching for new volunteers. This Saturday, more than 50 dogs trained in Monument as part of their annual training program.
It's all part of their regular day jobs as therapy dogs. The 'Go Team Therapy Dogs' work seven days a week, 24 hours a day ensuring they bring a smile to people's faces.
"So we have schedules out there. Colorado Springs is so busy, so with our teams, we are at the Air Force Academy, we are right there with the cadets. We are at the courts here in Colorado Springs, with the District Attorney's office but then we are also in the elementary schools, the preschools, the hospitals, the hospice," said Nancy Trepagnier, Executive Director and Founder of 'Go Team Therapy Dogs.'
Trepagnier said since their launch in 2012 the team has seen the rapid need for therapy dogs increase across the Rocky Mountains. On Saturday, the non-profit participated in its second-largest Colorado Springs doggie training of the year.
"We have a lot of newbies on the team right now, and with the go team, they don't have to be a specific breed. They have every breed imaginable on the go team. The smallest dog on our team is about two and a half pounds. It's a teacup Yorkie. The largest dog on our team is a 247-pound bull mastiff," said Trepagnier.
Out of the 51 dogs that participated in the event, some were alumni while the others were new potential team members. While they were there, the dogs were required to participate in a total of 120 different tasks, and if they passed, they were then invited to be part of the "Go Team Therapy Dogs" club.
"Right now we have about 700 to 800 teams across the United States and in Italy, and also our first team in Spain. They work on military bases, and with our program, because it is an elite team, it takes about 20 hours over the weekend. We really want to make sure that these dogs are perfect and ready to go," added Trepagnier.
The next training session that will be held in Colorado Springs will be in June of 2024. However, if you would like your dog to be part of the 'Go Team Therapy Dogs' squad, you can start the application at any time. For more information on how to do that, you can visit the non-profit's official website.
