A BELOVED dog has been granted permission to become a ‘licensed pet therapist’ for the community that fell in love with him.
Golden retriever Buddy was officially given a licence to become a pet therapist, leaving owner Lee Martin overjoyed at the news.
The 44-year-old firm director took notice of Buddy’s seemingly calming nature for different groups of people whilst on walks and journeys, giving him the idea of gaining therapy pet status for his pooch.
Now, after months of tests, four-year-old Buddy has been given the go-ahead by Pets As Therapy to begin his new job of improving the lives of others.
Lee and wife Becca, 28, from Barnet, North London bought Buddy in 2018, and had been taking the dog to work one day when Lee noticed a group of visually impaired people.
Almost instantly the furry friend appeared to be a calming presence for the group, who were in awe of his friendliness, and thus revealing Buddy’s relaxing nature towards those with additional needs.
As the inseparable pair would go for walks, they would receive many compliments from strangers who adored Buddy, even going as far as crossing roads just to stroke the loveable pup.
In addition to welcoming new people, Buddy would also help with anxious patients of Becca’s father-in-law – who works as a hypnotherapist.
This gave Lee the idea of introducing Buddy to care homes and individuals in need of a therapy pet, with Lee applying in October 2022 for the pair to be assessed.
Images from Lee show Buddy smiling up at the camera next to his certificate, as well as Lee and Buddy’s ID tags.
Lee shared the images to social media on Friday, writing: “Late October, I posted about wanting to take our wonderful golden retriever Buddy to care homes and to meet people who are lonely, have learning difficulties, anyone really who needs a lift, a smile or just the comfort of a very loving, overly-needy and an affectionate attention-cuddle-seeking doggy.
“Many people mentioned [that] to be fully insured and to be allowed into any establishment, I should register him with Pets as Therapy – a non profit pet therapy organisation.
“So I started the process, and it is quite a process, where we need to prove his full vaccinations, have character references and an assessment with one of their registered assessors in an open space not local or anywhere he’s been before.
“Plus, an annual fee to help keep them running the business.
“The assessor had to brush him in several areas, loudly, and randomly bang pots and pans together to see how he’d react to sudden loud noises, walk with him and a few other things including lots of questions about him and myself.
“We have now passed, he’s got his certificate, we have our ID tags and we are ready to brighten up people’s days.
“There are so many people who had to give up their hairy besties when going to a home, children and adults with disabilities and learning issues, and some who are just lonely.
“If you have a family member, friend, or you work somewhere that Buddy could visit and make a difference to someone’s day, then please let us know.”
The post received hundreds of likes and dozens of comments as many shared their delight at seeing Buddy thrive.
Rita Patrick said: “Congratulations and thank you for the happiness you will be giving to others. Well done, Bud.”
Sarah James said: “It’s been wonderful reading your story/journey to making a difference in people’s lives.
“As a dog walker and a mother of a child with special needs, I can only now see how rewarding and therapeutic this job is for all.
“Dogs are the best companion one could ask for. It teaches so much [sic] values and skills my children will need later in life.”
Jon Gold said: “I just love this post, Lee. What a wonderful thing you have done and will be doing – the world needs more Lees and Buddys.”
Carol Turnham said: “Fantastic story and a wonderful outcome. Congratulations to you and Buddy, I’m sure you’ll make a big difference to people’s lives.”
Speaking today, Lee said: “We got Buddy from a KC Breeder in Belfast. He was a good breeder with healthy dogs.
“We’re dog people. We said we’d like to meet the parents of the dogs – so we went and chose the fluffiest dog we could find and it just felt right because he was born the day before our wedding (1 Sep 2018).
“We knew we wanted a family and golden retrievers are known for that. We got him and one year later our first daughter was born – the bond was instant and whenever I came into a room he wanted a playfight, letting himself go with me and friends/family.
“Buddy’s love for people makes them happy. He senses children with learning difficulties or disabilities or so on and so forth, so why don’t we share that with others who may need buddy love?
“Someone mentioned to me that their grandma had gone into a home local to us and was really upset because she felt distant and had a dog that she had to give up.
“So, I phoned to see if they would take buddy but he needed his therapy assessments.
“Loads of people told me to try Pets as Therapy, so I went online and uploaded records of his vaccines and made sure they were up to date.
“Then, we had to add referees and pictures and a description of all our details, and had to wait for the assessor, Denise, to meet us somewhere.
“We got there a bit beforehand so when Denise turned up, a woman in a wheelchair was stroking buddy, laughing and smiling. And so was a young boy with autism, who had never stroked a dog before.
“Denise walked Buddy all over the area – he was fixated on me – our personalities are very similar.
“She walked around and laughed, saying she had never seen such a strong connection between a dog and a human before.
“He kept looking around and then Denise suddenly took pots and pans out – as anything could happen in a care home – then, she dropped his lead and I wasn’t allowed to look at him.
“Denise was laughing as he was doing everything to look at me when I was looking away. She later told us ‘We would be honoured to have him as PAT, he’s passed with flying colours.’
“Last Friday, the post arrived and I found ID tags and Buddy’s certificate inside. We’ve now had a row of 500 people asking for Buddy love.
“On Saturday, Buddy and I will go round to a house where we will visit an old lady who’s widowed.
“We’ll also be visiting two other care homes and a boy with autism.
“We’re trying to help everyone – not just care homes – but that’s the main ones so he can bring lots of happiness and joy to single individuals, those who have had an issue with a dog or who have problems living at home and those who are lonely.
“We want to spread Buddy’s love and everyone is being really supportive about it. This isn’t for me or family, it’s for other people and Buddy – win-win.
“He’s addicted to cuddles, love and affection, so it’s great for him too. We have been asked for Buddy to be the mascot for the charity Norwood – which helps more than 2,500 people with learning disabilities and autism, and children and families in crisis.”
