Meet Our Founders:

We are Rodney and Laura Bickel, founders of Canine Companion Therapy Program (CCTP), and here is our story.

Several years ago, while attending obedience training with our Australian Shepherd “Murphy Douglas,” we were asked by the trainers if we would be interested in a canine touch therapy program. Murphy was intelligent and easy to train. Murphy loved having a purpose when we put a leash or harness on him; he knew we were going on a ride to see more people. He had a unique look that people were drawn to, but as he got closer, everyone got to experience his wiggle butt, his lean into your touch, and dog smiles would melt their hearts. As a family, we decided to take the journey, signed up for the touch therapy training, and committed to the additional 12 weeks of training and testing.
Laura and I both trained and were certified with Murphy and got to experience firsthand the overwhelming emotions that touch therapy offered and what canine touch therapy can do for a person’s well-being both young and old. Whether it was to listen and sit with a young child as they learn to read and not judge their mistakes or mispronunciations, or visits to a cancer center to calm the nerves of a patient getting ready for a long battle with treatments, or responding to area schools for crisis response team for a tragedy with a student, we saw that unconditional love our family pets offered along with his specialized training gave everyone Murphy came in contact with that feeling of unconditional love. With a life-calming assurance for that moment in time things were ok and he was there for them.
That's our story of how we got involved and the impact it made on our lives and the lives that we shared Murphy with. Sadly, during COVID-19, the therapy program was shuttered and Murphy passed unexpectedly shortly after in 2022. This was devastating to our family with the loss of a beloved pet but also left special needs programs, shut-ins at area assisted living facilities, treatment centers, hospitals, libraries, and many other organizations without visits to their programs. We made lifelong friends throughout this journey with other therapy teams and all of us have remained good friends over the years.  We also share with each other when we have been contacted by those places we once attended and have been asked when we would be able to come back. That’s when Laura and I decided to get “the band back together” and start up another therapy program. We will be providing highly trained fully insured teams to the surrounding areas very soon.  Currently, we have 6-8 teams going through re-certification and another 10 teams ready for our therapy training to commence. Our family has a new Australian Shepherd named “Auzzy Millhouse”. (Aka: Auzwald P Coaltrain) We love the intelligence, energy, and bond this breed has when you give them the training to channel that energy along with a purpose, you get a great family pet and a kind soul to share with others. Auzzy is well on his way through basic and advanced training waiting to be one of the first members of our new therapy training program.
For the sick, healing, elderly, disabled, anxious, uncertain, shy, lost, shut-ins, tired, or just the need a non-judgmental, unconditional friend to lend an ear, Canine Companion Therapy Teams are available for Jefferson Co and surrounding areas.

I read this someplace recently….
Dogs are your best friend for part of your life…, You are your dog’s best friend for their entire life. Don’t take that role lightly.