New Member Inquiry

Member Roles and Qualifications

HOPE AACR teams bring Comfort In Times of Crisis and people like you–and your canines are critical to the work we do. After becoming a HOPE Member, you’ll work side-by-side with relief organizations, first responders, and community groups to provide emotional comfort and support to people affected by crises and disasters. Join our network of support, and make a difference in your community.

Dog/Handler Teams

To become a Certified Member with a canine partner:

• You must be at least 18 years of age at the time of the screening evaluation.
• Your canine must be at least 18 months old at the time of the certification training workshop.
• You and your canine must be a registered member of a formal animal-assisted therapy organization and working with your canine as a therapy team for at least 12 consecutive months.
• You and your canine must have a minimum of 12 verifiable AAA/T visits within the last twelve months.
• You and your canine must successfully complete a HOPE AACR screening evaluation.
• You and your canine must successfully complete a certification training workshop.
• Your canine should not be easily stressed and should enjoy interacting with people.
• You should be in good health and be capable of handling the physical and mental stress of crisis response work and have sufficient energy levels adequate for crisis response work.
• Pay all fees related to screening and training workshop, membership fees, and purchase all necessary uniform items.

Team Leaders

To become a Certified Member without a canine partner (Team Leader):

• You must be at least 18 years of age at the time of the screening evaluation.
• You should have some experience in animal-assisted therapy or some other experience working with dogs.
• You must successfully complete a HOPE AACR screening evaluation.
• You must successfully complete a certification training workshop.
• You should be in good health and be capable of handling the physical and mental stress of crisis response work.
• Pay all fees related to screening and training workshop, membership fees, and purchase all necessary uniform items.