MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
CAP is unable to fill the demand for visitations. Additional Therapy Teams are constantly needed so if you have a dog that would be a good therapy participant, please check out our training page and complete an online application for our next training class.
We also need members who support our mission but don’t have a pet to visit! Members help with fundraising, community participation, public relations, member services, and our library and school programs.
CAP never charges for the visits made by our Therapy Teams so we rely in large part on membership dues. Won't you become a member of CAP?
CAP Membership renewals are due August 1st-Complete your renewal online today.
Please click here to complete our online form and become a new member or renew your membership with PayPal or your credit card. If you experience difficulty completing our online form, try refreshing the page or change Browsers.
$50 Supporting Membership
$40 Family Membership
$30 Individual Membership
If you cannot fill out and pay on our online form, you may download a paper form, print it out and mail it with a check to:
The Companion Animal Program
PO Box 453
Chatham, MA 02633
Please consider an additional donation as well. Through your generosity we will be able to continue the over 5,000 therapeutic visitations annually! The people and the facilities we serve rely on our volunteer effort. Thank you, in advance, for helping us continue this important and healing work.
Please use our easy PayPal 'Donate' button to make a tax deductible contribution now or send your check to the address above!
Thank you for your support!
The Companion Animal Program, Inc. is a non-profit, 501 (c)(3) charitable organization and is funded entirely by membership dues and contributions.
For more information please email us at: Info@CompanionAnimalProgram.com
For those of you who live elsewhere, check our LINKS page for therapy groups in other locations around New England and the rest of the country.
Companion Animal Program:
JOIN or RENEW
So you want your dog to be a Therapy dog because you love
your dog and feel he would be a great gift to others.
It is a wonderful gift to give but there are
a few things to consider first.
1. Is your dog interested in other people they don’t know? children? Some are genuinely happy to be in the company of strangers and be touched. A more reserved dog can be a terrific therapy dog but will need the training we offer to see if this work is right for your dog. Taking our training course and testing will illuminate if this work is right for you and your dog.
2. Your dog needs to be comfortable with other dogs in their space. CAP visits consist of several teams of dogs visiting at the same facility. We do have a 6 ft. rule of separation between dogs and no nose to tail interaction during visits. Our 12-week training course works on making this comfortable for your dog.
3. Your dog has to be under control in an easy manner in all aspects of the visit. What does that mean? You and your dog work as a team which includes calmly handling distraction, impulse control, and attention to the handler. You and your dog will also have to deal with stress and uncontrollable behavior by the clientele. These aspects are all covered in our training course.
4. This work requires compassion and understanding from you. CAP asks for an hour monthly commitment and it is a community service that will at times be stressful for you. We work with how to handle this for you and your dog. We require that you “shadow” visit with one of our existing teams without your dog so you understand how this work will affect you as well as your dog.
5. If you and your dog need more time to work with one of these aspects, we work with you and your dog to strengthen these skills and enable you to retest with the next scheduled testing at the end of the class.
Yes, it is a wonderful gift for you and your dog to give. CAP would like it to be right for you both and we’d like to help you prepare for and enjoy many happy years of visiting together.