Rocky Mountain Therapy Dogs, or RMTD — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Amy Francis — currently has 21 dog-handler teams and six teams-in-training operating in Utah.

“It started off just in her backyard in 2019, working on some of the teams that she had been training,” said Amber Miller, RMTD’s new executive director. “And it’s just kind of slowly grown.”

Miller says the organization’s services are now in high demand.

“We first started off in the Wasatch Back, so Park City and Heber area,” Miller said. “We’re still back there, but I have seen a need of having therapy dogs in the Wasatch Front.”

That includes both the Ogden area and Utah County where RMTD currently has just a small number of dog teams in place. Miller hopes to add more teams and volunteers in both areas, which would allow her to fulfill more requests for therapy dogs.

“A lot of people need our help with just having ‘stressless’ areas,” Miller said. “Schools are one; helping kids with their reading levels. We’ve noticed that if they read to their dogs, their reading levels go up. If we go visit nursing homes, rehab places or (local colleges during finals week), it just kind of helps relieve the stress.”

Therapy dogs differ from service dogs and emotional support animals, according to Miller, who said the animals in her program are essentially public servants offering psychological and physiological support to individuals other than their owners.

“We had a boy who was blind and he was terrified of dogs and (in need of a service dog),” Miller said. “It went from the point he would not even come near the dog to eventually walking with the dog, talking with the dog. So, it helped him find that confidence to be able to have a service dog.”

Miller is encouraging dog owners who believe their animals could be of benefit to their local communities to contact RMTD so they can undergo evaluation and/or complete the necessary positive reinforcement training.

“It’s kind of like the Canine Good Citizen testing where they have to do a lot of the basic commands and be able to handle being in public, being around wheelchairs, crowded places and loud noises,” Miller said.

She added the RMTD will be instituting pretest role-play sessions to prepare dogs for evaluation. Much of the training can be done privately; RMTD offers beginner, intermediate and advanced dog training.

“Contact me to see if it’s something you think your dog would be able to do,” Miller implored. “I’ve had a lot of people say, ‘Oh, my dog is crazy.’ And I say, ‘Well, just tell me what’s going on with it.’ Most of the time, once they understand what the dog is actually doing … they see their dog is no longer this crazy dog but this amazing dog that can do a lot. So, like, don’t cut yourself short with your dog.”

RMTD is also seeking volunteers for roles both directly involved and not directly involved with the dogs.

For more information, to book an event or to inquire about team or volunteer opportunities, go to rmtdogs.org/ or call 435-671-6112.