Yes, a man brought a beautiful Golden Retriever into a doctor’s office the other day while we were there.
It was kind of startling to see a dog and I immediately thought ‘service dog.’ But then I realized the owner was not handicapped so I talked to him and he explained that this was a therapy dog.
Therapy dogs have to be registered and take stringent tests to ascertain how calm and friendly they are. Once they pass the test, they get a dog tag certifying them and they can go in anywhere.
And, yes, all breeds work, but labs and goldens have the best disposition for it.
My Therapy Dog Hairy and I have been to two convalescent home and he is very well received. We haven't been to a hospital yet but our group has several hospitals on the list that will let us visit. There are specified days when the group is allowed and the visit is for one hour. The people who have been there for a while and don't have dogs at home even if they were there are so grateful that you have brought a sweet dog for them to love on for a while.
The dogs that have been in the group when I have gone to the homes are a Corgi, a Rottie, a Boxer, a couple of Heinz 57s, a Great Dane and my Jack Russel.