http://charityguide.org/volunteer/fewhours/pet-therapy.htm
Bubbba Leroy: here is a link to an article that will get you started if you are interested in getting certified. It mentions Delta Society, which is a national organization. There are others as well, that you can find by Googling.The national organization can help you find a local branch to get started, or you can call a local hospital and ask who does visits there- they would probably be glad to hear that you're interested!
Murray passed his CGC and then we were evaluated and made a few supervised visits to become certified. The main thing about certification is that you are covered by insurance. Many institutions will allow people who are not certified to visit with pets, but in this age of litigation it's a good idea to have the coverage an organization provides. I hope you decide to do this - there is a huge demand for teams to do not just hospital visits, but also reading programs,educational presentations to schools and community groups, to become part of hospital rehab teams, to work with Crises Intervention teams, to do prison visits- the list goes on and on. Locally we can't fill all the requests being made, and I am always recruiting!
And biscuit, thanks for the kind words. The concern you and others expressed back in June was really appreciated.