Heeling Dogs Heals Hearts

I had planned on writing about Canine Connections, a program at Echo Glen Children's Center in Snoqualmie, WA, a juvenile-rehabilitation facility. This is a program that pairs at-risk youth with death row shelter dogs. The teens train the dogs to make them adoptable, and in the process gain compassion and self-esteem for themselves. It’s an amazing and beautiful process that most dog lovers immediately understand.

As I started writing about this particular program, I remembered the woman I had the pleasure of sitting next to at the recent Association of Pet Dog Trainers Conference in Portland, OR. Her name was Keri Gorman, and she told me all about the program she worked with called Project Click, an animal training program offered by the Humane Society for Southwest Washington.

Project Click also pairs at-risk youth with shelter dogs, utilizing clicker training to help the dogs learn basic behaviors that will make them more adoptable. Through the process of training with a clicker, the teens learn to communicate with the dogs and train them without punishment, but by rewarding the positive.

At the conference, as Keri told me more about Project Click, I told her about the Virginia Woof Dog Daycare in Portland, OR. Virginia Woof is owned and operated by Outside In, a social service organization that helps homeless youth. The dog daycare was created to provide a bridge between homelessness and employment.

Many of the homeless youth are animal lovers with a dire need for employment. Making the transition from the streets to a job is made a bit easier by working with non-judgmental canines. The dogs don’t ask where or how you’ve been living, they only care that the teens are there to take care of them and have fun.

All of the programs mentioned so far are in my area of the world, the Pacific Northwest. So, I started to wonder what else is out there. Scouring the internet, I found programs that were helping animals and teens all over the world!

I have collected some of the articles for you to read. One warning, you should have a box of tissue handy before you begin. If you’re so inclined, I would also suggest you have your checkbook ready, as most of these programs are funded by donations and many are as at-risk as the teens they are helping. Programs like these are a great way to pool our resources to help more than one species at a time.

After reading these articles, it will be quite clear that these programs are an investment in all of our futures. In my opinion, these programs are truly changing the world…one dog/child team at a time.

I would love to hear from readers about programs in your area!

Washington: Canine Connections
& Project Click

Oregon: Virginia Woof Dog Daycare

California: The Gentle Barn
& Casa Pacifica

England: Canine Partners

New York: Children’s Village

New Mexico: Youth Diagnostic and Development Center

Florida: Kids and Canines