American Therapy Dog Association, Inc. (“ATDA”) is a nonprofit corporation and organization offering membership and registration for therapy dogs world-wide. The purposes of ATDA are to provide dog owners interested in therapy dogs and therapy dog programs an informative venue and association with other like owners and to provide official therapy dog testing, registration and certification.

ATDA testing will take place on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 (subject to change) at the Specialty Hotel in the afternoon in conjunction with the AKC Canine Good Citizen Test and the Future Messenger Test. The test involves:

1. Certification that an animal is properly behaved and has basic obedience training. This is accomplished by being evaluated by an AKC certified Canine Good Citizen evaluator and includes passing the AKC CGC test (10 test program)
2. Certification that an animal has the proper temperament and is suitable for therapy dog programs/visits. This is accomplished by evaluation of an AKC/ATDA certified tester and includes testing the dog's reaction to noises, distractions and work with various medical assistance equipment, such as crutches, canes, wheelchairs and walkers.

Check the final schedule for times. For further information, contact Sonja Ostrom at 303.455.0023 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Anne Marie Lynch, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it