S5:E5 Safety, Standards & Speaking Up With Therapy Dogs (Guest: Christine Waters)

About this episode

Christine Waters discusses safety and standards in therapy dog programs within school environments.

S5:E5 Safety, Standards & Speaking Up With Therapy Dogs (Guest: Christine Waters) In this episode, we’re joined by Christine Waters, a primary school chaplain and therapy dog handler, who shares her experience navigating a challenging situation involving another therapy dog in a school setting. Christine reflects on observing concerning behaviour, the steps taken to address risk, and the importance of accountability, training, and clear processes when issues arise. The conversation highlights the real-world complexities of working in shared environments, and the responsibility handlers carry to ensure safety for everyone involved. An honest and important discussion about maintaining standards, advocating for best practice, and protecting the integrity of therapy dog programs. Please remember to subscribe, follow and like this podcast if you enjoy it, a good review will help us a lot too. You can keep up with Christine and Benny on Instagram: @bennytheteddy__ Request A Topic Or Join Us On The Therapy Dogs Australia Podcast Here: https://form.jotform.com/253357419361056 SUBSCRIBE! Interested in Animal-Assisted Therapy / Animal-Assisted Services and studying with Therapy Dogs…

People in this episode

Host: Samantha King

Guest: Christine Waters

Topics covered

• safety
• therapy dogs
• accountability
• training
• best practices
• school settings

Keywords

• therapy dogs
• safety standards
• school chaplain
• animal-assisted therapy
• accountability
• training processes

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Therapy Dogs Australia, Instagram

More episodes of Therapy Dogs Australia Podcast

• S5:E9 School Leadership with a Therapy Dog (Guest: Elly Patterson) · May 19, 2026 · 1h 7m
• S5:E8 Burnout, Boundaries & Better Leadership (Guest: Chelsea Beegling) · May 5, 2026 · 2h 5m
• S5:E7 Puppy Board & Trains: What You Need to Know (Guest: Sue Chipperton) · April 21, 2026 · 2h 10m
• S5:E6 Navigating Consent and Image Sharing in Schools in the Age of AI (Guest: Christine Waters) · April 7, 2026 · 1h 26m
• S5:E4 From Puppy School To Professional Therapy Dog & Handler Team (Guest: Melissa Ashford) · March 10, 2026 · 1h 30m
• S5:E3 AAI: Learning To Learn · February 24, 2026 · 1h 55m