UPDATES AND HAPPENINGS
August 2020
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C.A.T. Teams On the Job During COVID-19
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John Knox Village Car Pet Parade
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On Friday, July 24, more than 20 pet therapy teams lined up their vehicles for a Pet Parade at senior living community John Knox Village in Pompano Beach.
Canine Assisted Therapy’s pet therapy teams took their decorated vehicles and therapy dogs to the facility, following a designated parade route. Residents lined the route to wave and interact with the dogs.
To watch the NCB6 news coverage, click
HERE.
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During the past few weeks, Canine Assisted Therapy has provided multiple visits to facilities we were previously able to serve through in-person visits, bringing volunteers and therapy dogs into the facility itself.
Three recent visits, with
Quantum House, Allegro Senior Living and YourLife Senior Living/Memory Care, show how C.A.T. is creatively providing vital therapeutic services in a new way, adapting to current pandemic and social-distancing guidelines.
These new services include window visits with residents, virtual visits through Zoom, Skype, Facetime and other technologies along with our socially-distanced pet parades. Feedback from residents and staff alike has been overwhelmingly positive, and our therapy teams are eager to stay engaged and of assistance during this time.
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Please enjoy this video from Canine Assisted Therapy's visit to Quantum House in West Palm Beach. The therapy dogs wanted to cheer up some of their friends with a drive-by pet parade. It was a fun (and safe) time for all! Staffers wrote to tell us
"...it was the best event we ever had!"
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Royal Caribbean Families Enjoy Virtual Storytime
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Children of Royal Caribbean employees were treated to a virtual book reading and presentation about Bite Prevention. Canine Assisted Therapy's executive director, Courtney Trzcinski, was joined by therapy dogs and volunteers as they discussed how to properly approach a dog, how to stay safe around dogs, and other bite prevention protocols. A page from Canine Assisted Therapy's book, "
Georgia's Tales", was read out loud by each pet therapy team.
If you would like to bring a virtual visit from a therapy dog to your next employee meeting or training, contact us to learn how.
Info@catdogs.org.
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Gilda's Club Feels the Love
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Canine Assisted Therapy partnered with Gilda’s Club South Florida for a paw-sitively fun morning at Therapy Dog Saturday for children, teens and families on Saturday, July 25th.
Canine Assisted Therapy joined local charity Gilda’s Club for an interactive, virtual visit with our therapy dog teams. Club members "met" adorable pups, were able to ask questions, and watched the dogs show off their tricks and costumes.
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Canine Assisted Therapy Partners with
Central Bark to Keep Kids Safe
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Recently, Canine Assisted Therapy and community partner, Central Bark, taught a bite prevention class to the City of Pompano Beach's summer camp children at Emma Lou Olson Civic Center.
Therapy dogs aided the presenter in demonstrating appropriate ways to approach a dog and allowing children to practice these techniques safely.
ALL volunteers, children and camp staff wore masks, social distanced and followed CDC guidelines.
A 6ft distance was kept between the handler and child via long leash. Children were also required to wash their hands before and after interacting.
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New ‘Dignity In Aging’ Grants Help
Seniors Overcome Isolation
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Canine Assisted Therapy is proud to announce that it has received a grant from the Dignity in Aging Funders Collaboration, through our ‘Pet Therapy for Seniors’ program for the period 2020/2021.
We are excited and honored to have been chosen and funded through the generosity of The Dignity in Aging Funders Collaborative. The Collaboration consists of: Community Foundation of Broward, Jewish Federation of Broward County, United Way of Broward County, and The Frederick A. Deluca Foundation.
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Volunteers Stay Safe & Stylish Too!
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Canine Assisted Therapy Board Chair and Co-Founder Debra Berger donated 100 hand-made, face masks for our volunteer therapy teams. As you can see, the masks are of course purple to coordinate with C.A.T.'s purple volunteer uniforms.
Mascot, Georgia, acted as a model. Please note: NEVER place a mask on a live animal. Many thanks to Debra for her hard work, time and concern for our volunteer’s health and safety.
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Canine Assisted Therapy proudly announces the official release of the
‘Dogs Who Heal 2021 Calendar’, featuring local certified therapy dogs who have been instrumental in helping to comfort the staff and students since the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
C.A.T. will receive proceeds from the sale of the calendars, so we encourage your support. The calendars are high quality, and make a wonderful gift. They’re currently available through the following vendors:
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Support Canine Assisted Therapy while you shop.
Simply go to
smile.amazon.com,
select
Canine Assisted Therapy
as your charity of choice, and Amazon Smile will donate 0.5% of your purchase to our program.
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Interested in becoming an annual supporter?
Contact us to learn more about Canine Assisted Therapy's current needs.
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Even if you can't physically touch a therapy animal right now, studies show that any positive interaction with an animal can decrease stress levels and lower blood pressure.
For more information about our TeleDog program, visit
teledogs.org
or contact us at (954) 990-5175.
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