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Causes: Centers to Support the Independence of Specific Populations, Human Services
Mission: Love on 4 paws, inc. Is an organization dedicated to the principle that animals can be used as an effective therapeutic means to assist in the treatment of patients, both young and old, suffering from the depressive and painful effects of their illnesses. To accomplish this goal, we send our many teams of volunteers and their animals to children's hospitals, schools for patients with specialized needs, adult hospitals and facilities for the elderly. The purpose of these visits is to let our animals do what they do best: decrease loneliness, isolation and pain. Our program also assists hospital personnel in identifying those areas where animal assisted therapy can provide them with another tool to enhance the comfort of their patients and thus, increase the overall quality of their care.
Programs: In 2016 love on 4 paws had approximately 85 animal volunteers and their human handlers. We send our volunteers to visit hospitals, health facilities, nursing homes, and schools for children with special needs. During 2015 we served fourteen major hospitals, fifteen schools, five facilities for the elderly, nine facilities for children and adults with special needs, and three rehabilitation facilities. Our volunteers are out making visits to the facilities we serve every day of the year including holidays. The visits we make benefit not only the patients, but the staff as well. During each visit, a photograph of the animal with the person visited is provided at no cost as a memento of the experience. Our animal teams also provide assistance to staff professionals by helping motivate their patients, educate children about animals, and contribute to a friendlier atmosphere for both patients and staff. Our volunteers are not paid for the time and effort that they put into the services they provide. They do it because they believe in the program and its powerful effect on those that it seeks to help.