What is the difference between a Therapy Dog and a Service Dog?

Therapy dogs provide comfort and affection to various individuals and groups, while service dogs are trained to perform specific tasks for their handlers who have disabilities.

Alliance of Therapy Dogs, Inc. is an international registry of certified therapy dog teams. ATD provides testing, certification, registration, support, and insurance for members who volunteer with their dogs in animal-assisted activities.

How do my dog and I become a 17th Circuit team?

First of all, you must be certified by ATD and have six months of community visits. Then, contact Mary Ellen Commare at maryellen@17ththerapydogs.org or 815-289-1568 to complete the process. We will be happy to have you!

Who certifies dogs for ATD and the 17th Circuit?

Kathleen Alsup certifies for ATD and the 17th Circuit. Dogs who have been certified by another evaluator or another organization will need to be evaluated and approved by Kathleen Alsup prior to acceptance in the 17th Circuit program.

How much time is involved in volunteering?

We recommend 2 visits per month. However, we have teams that do many more. We are understanding of individual circumstances and availability.

I have a job during the day, are there times I can do visits in the evenings and the weekends?

Yes, besides courtrooms and schools, there are many community events our dogs visit.

Uncategorized Archives - 17th Circuit Therapy Dogs

New Century Club Members Recognized

At the Annual Handler Training in February, Sharon Robertson and Dawn Pfluger were recognized for logging over 100 therapy dog visits in 2025 with the 17th Therapy Dog Volunteers, Inc. As a thank you, they were both presented with a jacket with Century Club embroidered on the front. They join Bruce Erickson, Paul Hoffman, Ron […]

Annual Handler Training

Each year, we hold an annual handler training meeting, where we talk about past and upcoming visits, brush up on training (led by Kathleen Alsup and her sidekick, Storm), and answer any questions that may have come up. This is a great time for all of us to get together and share ideas and suggestions. […]

Alpine Kiwanis Donation

We would like to give a huge thank you to the Alpine Kiwanis for their generous donation of $3,000 to help us keep our program growing. This donation will provide materials to our teams such as trading cards and other materials when we make visits in the community. Thank you again for this wonderful recognition.

2025 Rockford Community Therapy Dog Visits

The 17th Therapy Dog Volunteers continue to increase their impact on the Rockford Community. Over 2025 our dedicated volunteers logged 1,172 visits to schools, facilities and events in the area. We cannot thank these volunteers enough for their time and effort to help make 17th Circuit Therapy Dog Volunteers the standard for kindness, caring, compassion […]