Community Services

Therapy Dog Volunteer Visits

Improving lives on a daily basis, St. John Ambulance THERAPY DOG Program brings joy and comfort to the sick, lonely and to those in need of a friendly visit. This community service is unique to St. John Ambulance Canada and is delivered by Therapy Dog teams, who in 2016, 143+ York Region teams visited 4,634 clients in hospitals, retirement residences, care facilities, schools, and universities. Our four-legged volunteers are always greatly appreciated.

 

Here are our FOUR specific Therapy Dog Community Service programs we offer in York Region:

 

"THERAPY DOG VISITS"

Our St. John Ambulance volunteers and their Therapy Dogs make 1-hour scheduled visits with members of our community in schools, libraries hospitals, senior residences, nursing homes, businesses, public or awareness events, town or municipal events, colleges and universities. If you are an organization, business, education facility or an agency that could benefit from the therapeutic calming of our Therapy Dog visits, please contact us using the button below. We are always open to new venues or suggestions and would be happy to hear from you!

 

"THERAPY DOG Awareness"

Are you interested in having one of our St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog representatives come to your event, function or group? Engaging with the community with our dogs is what we like to do. Schedule us to come to your event as a Guest Speaker / Presenter so we may provide your audience with some insight into how our Therapy Dog program operates and the therapeutic benefits we provide to our community. We'll also bring our four-legged loved ones so you can see them in action! 

 

"I PLAY IT SAFE WITH DOGS"

(School Presentation Event & Group Venues)

“I Play It Safe With Dogs” is a St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Community Service program that was created to educate children in the correct way to meet and greet a dog and what to do if confronted by a stray dog.

 

The focus of the presentation is to teach children in Grades 1 thru 3 how to handle situations with any dog and to reduce the number of dog bites. Since inception, it has been delivered to over 25,000 school children in York Region.

 

The presentation is one hour and consists of an informative and fun video and hands-on practice with two St. John Ambulance Therapy Dogs. Although the presentation is aimed at grades 1-3, it can be adjusted to accommodate older or younger children.

 

"PAWS 4 STORIES®"

(Schools & Public Settings & Library Venues)

“Paws 4 Stories®” is a St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Community Service program that was introduced to assist in helping to improve the reading skills of children by having a child read to a Therapy Dog.

 

The idea of a child reading to a dog has been around for many years. There is evidence that children quickly improved their reading skills and comprehension along with gaining confidence and self-esteem in their relationship with others.

 

The Paws 4 Stories Program can be implemented in either a library setting or in a school environment. The program consists of 8 one hour sessions, usually once a week.

 

How to Request Our Services?

Complete the Therapy Dog Volunteer Request Form by hitting the THERAPY DOG Service Request button below.

 

A York Region Community Service Coordinator or designate will follow-up with you with any other details and schedule a visit with one of our volunteer Therapy Dog Teams.

 

Please Note:

Due to liability issues and to safeguard our volunteers, we do not offer private visits in peoples homes. All visits are done in public settings. In special cases, we will, however, make every effort on a case-by-case situation. 

 

Cost?

Although no fee is charged for our Therapy Dog Service visits and volunteers, we do welcome donations. Donations assist in the cost-recovery of transportation, volunteer training requirements and the general operation of our volunteer divisions.