Quote Originally Posted by mike001
Wolfsoul, I don't know where you are from, but cgc IS required for a dog to be accepted by the ST.John's Ambulance for therapy work. They are the ones to present you with your vest, badge and certificate. There might be some fly by nights who can fool the public, but real Therapy dogs have to pass a rigorous test.Being an adjucator for quite a few yrs I certainly know this to be true.
As for calling your dog a therapy dog, service dog or whatever, it shows how little you know about service dogs. A therapy dog is quite different from a Service dog. A therapy dog has access to hospitals and nursing homes, but no access anywhere else. A certified service dog has access to all public places So you can't compare the two. Maybe you mean your dog is an emotional support dog, in which case it doesn't have any access.
Where did I say CGC isn't requied for St John's ambulance? I don't know of their practises, all I know is that St John's Ambulance is not the only therapy organization and I've never heard of another organization that used it as a requirement rather than it's own screening process, like the organization my dog's mother went through, Pets and People.

I have a service dog, and yes, I do prefer to call her a therapy dog. When I call her a service dog I feel as though people look down on me as someone who "needs service." Makes me sound helpless. I'd rather she be my therapy dog, as that is what she is to me -- she calms and reassures me, and provides me with the mental therapy that I need.