I know the woman who has raised "Faith" has done good things with her -- but from hard experience I can tell you that not every handicapped dog does well as a pet therapy dog.
David and I adopted a dog who had been abused 5 years ago. Her abuser broke her back and she didn't walk. We actually got her on her feet (major huge deal -- we did pet massage, acupuncture, and a ton of therapy) but because she grew SO fast just getting a decent 3 small meals a day (I was ADAMANT she wasn't going to gain weight too fast but she was SO malnourished) that the growth spurt re-opened the break in her spine. A blood clot loosened from the injury site (they think) and she had a stroke and died after only 3 months with us.
I loved her beyond belief -- all that wanting a child SO bad my whole adult life I poured on this little girl -- because I carried her everywhere next to my heart. We had begun the initial stages of pet therapy training.
HAD SHE LIVED ... she would ***NOT*** have made a good therapy dog.
It completely depends on personality. Which ... in a pup can be a great unknown. You can try to train them ... you can work your tush off to train and socialize them....
BUT
If they are **at all** guardy about the site of injury ... or if they feel at all lacking in confidence because they are vulnerable in a spot ... you may train them and you may come a long long way -- but if there are any "hurts" that are just plain really deep (and those can happen in ONE instant when very very young) it may simply make them not *enjoy* pet therapy.
In my heart of hearts I know Polly would never have made a good therapy dog -- simply because the trauma *she* sustained was so horrible and so scarey that altho we may have gone a LONG way in healing all her hurts, I'm not sure she would ever have been able to fully just LOVE all aspects of pet therapy.
I'm fully convinced you can train most any dog to do pet therapy. But it takes a very special owner to do it on the right level and it takes a lot of trust and bonding with the dog to keep it all balanced.
But we have developed a really romantic idea of any handicapped dog should be GREAT at pet therapy. And unfortunately it doesn't work. After we lost Polly we searched for many, many months to find another dog who would be GREAT at pet therapy. And most of the ones we tried HARD to find and adopt were handicapped.
One was over in the Tampa area -- I corresponded with this woman for ages -- and she was convinced this little dog with a cart would make a phenomenal pet therapy dog.
We went over to meet her -- in a very well-planned meet on neutral ground, etc. The dog was a total sweetheart -- she was adorable and really superb with the other dogs, with both of us. We were literally almost ready to get in the car wiith her and the woman said "Don't you want to cuddle with her???" And I said sure. I was sitting on a bench ... and the woman picked her up out of the cart and put her in my arms.
Yep -- she was a total cuddle bunny -- she laid her head on my shoulder, snuggled in ... and while we were all talking, the dog suddenly heard the woman behind me and just to respond to the woman the dog turned slightly in my arms.... I heart her cry. She hurt her own injury site JUST by twisting to respond to a positive sound ... and then ...
CUJO ALMOST RIPPED MY FREAKING FACE OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She turned in that INSTANT into a total demon. I'm tough and not fearful and she didn't bite hard ... BUT she bit my face.
It wasn't ME who moved. It was nothing I did -- the dog **herself** turned ... and in turning she hurt her own back at the injury site (she squealed as she moved) and THAT provoked the bite response.
She didn't mean to -- I wasn't angry at all. But in that instant it was clear -- this dog was NOT pet therapy material. The humans **wanted** her to be ... but as long as there is pain ... as long as there is any potential for pain and/or fear, you have a dog that can't really be stable enough for pet therapy.
With that dog it was pain ... with Pollyanna it was vulnerability ... *some* handicapped dogs may make excellent pet therapy prospects. Some just don't.
With all our dogs who do pet therapy it has to be all about the dog. Does the dog **enjoy** it? Does the dog feel fulfilled doing it? Does the dog LONG to go??? Can't WAIT to go?
It can't be about the human owners ... and the good we may want to do ...
Sorry -- I didn't mean this to be any sort of a rant -- but neither did I want this to be a plea to try to make this dog into something it may not be well suited for. But I sure as heck would LOVE to see him get into an environment where he could be nurtured and exposed to whatever might make him thrive.