Helping You Helping Others
Morningstar Therapy Dogs have been helping members successfully share their therapy dogs with others since 2003. Our most important role is is to share the resources we have developed over the years with you. Here are the ways we help you build your confidence as a certified therapy dog team and assist you in finding opportunities to share your therapy dog with others.
Shadowing and Mentoring
Often, our members have been visiting people as a therapy dog team for years. At our monthly meetings, we share our knowledge and stories, discuss community requests, identify new opportunities, and provide socialization opportunities for members and their dogs. To maintain your skills, we often discuss training techniques.
New to being certified? We’ve got you covered. Once you join our organization, upon request, we provide shadowing opportunities. You may either accompany us when we are visiting others or you can visit with your therapy dog and we will shadow you and provide friendly suggestions to improve the visit.
Wondering if your dog is the right fit? We are so committed to therapy dogs and their handlers, we will share information on how to get certified and even accompany you when practicing to become a therapy dog team in dog-friendly businesses.
An example is when Morningstar member Joy Styer accompanied Karen Mitchell and her standard poodle Willis on their first visit to Montrose High School. MTD members are willing to go with a team on their first visits, or to allow a team to
“shadow” them as they take their own dogs on a typical visits so new members can see how a visit is done.
Identifying Opportunities
We are often contacted by organizations and community members requesting therapy dog teams.
Morningstar Therapy Dogs connect handler/dog teams with facilities in the community.
Some current community opportunities include:
- Montrose Public Library Reading with Rover program.
- Montrose High School visits to reduce student stress.
- Facilities such as assisted living, nursing homes, hospice, and Community Options.
- Homestead individual visits.
- Several area elementary schools to provide support to at risk readers, special needs and severe needs students and a friendly smile and loving touch to students during grief counseling when struggling with loss.
- Crisis support in situations such as a death of a student, death of a teacher or firefighters fighting wildland fires.
Community Outreach
More and more, the great work therapy teams do in communities is being recognized. We have such an impact on those we touch.
We reach out to and our often contacted by the media asking that we provide a story about our team members and their work in our community.
Morningstar Therapy Dogs also organizes fundraisers, helps in community crisis situations, and informs the community about therapy dog teams.
Through our interactions in the community, we often meet people who are interested in therapy dog work. We invite them to come to our meetings and provide them with the support needed to become involved in this important work.
Community Outreach - Visits
Community Outreach - Reading to Rover at the Montrose Public Library
Morningstar Therapy Dog teams bring joy to children. What a great way for your child to read to an audience that listens to them without judgment.
Community Outreach - Incident Management Team
Morningstar Therapy Dog group in Montrose was contacted by the Incident Management Team on the South Rim of the Black Canyon fire on July 2025. They requested that therapy dog teams visit the fire crews camped at their incident command post at Johnson Elementary School before their morning and evening briefings.
Fire crews were from all parts of the U.S. – as close as Crested Butte and as far away as Maine. Due to the impact on fire fighters being away from their families and pets for extended periods of time, an effort is being made to seek ways to support responders while they are still on duty. They have found that therapy dogs have helped make a difference.
Eight local therapy dog teams were quickly assembled to visit. All those who visited had the same positive experience and stated what an honor it was to meet these hard-working men and women. They spoke of how professional, dedicated, and welcoming the crews were. Many took pictures of our dogs and showed us pictures of their dogs. The dogs experienced lots of hugs and belly rubs. They love this job!
The lucky dogs and their handlers who got to visit were Sue Danner and Kenzie, Marcia Heckard and River, Mary Hodson and Revie, Isaiah Knott and Marley, Kerry Rawls and Ellie, Kay Schritter and Molly, Heidi Rettig and Breeze, Joyce Slusarski and Lexi.
Community Outreach - Morningstar Therapy Dogs/Montrose Animal Protection Agency Presentation
The public was invited to an informative session about therapy dogs at the Montrose Animal Shelter hosted by Montrose Therapy Dogs and the Montrose Area Protection Agency held at the Montrose Animal Shelter.
Community Outreach - Hug Your Dog Day
For three years, Morningstar Therapy Dogs has collaborated with Chow Down Pet Store and Montrose Animal Protection Agency (MAPA ) for Hug Your Dog Day.
Community Outreach - Sheriff Deputy Leo Peters and Tigo
Morningstar Therapy Dogs invited Sheriff Deputy Leo Peters and his K-9 Tigo to demonstrate Tigo’s drug sniffing and tracking skills. Members of the community were invited.