Help Sick and Injured Kids Experience the Healing Power of Animals
Support the Facility Dog Program
Whether it involves providing comfort to a child in distress, offering a distraction during a painful procedure or motivating a patient to move after surgery, animal-assisted therapy can be an important part of the healing process for Phoenix Children’s patients and their families. And thanks to a new program launching at the hospital, soon they’ll be able to experience the benefits of animal-assisted therapy more often. The Facility Dog Program is funded entirely by philanthropy. This year, with the help of our sponsor RunBuddy Mobile, Dine With Your Dog is raising funds to support the addition of the full-time therapy dogs and the costs of their ongoing care
Help Launch the Facility Dog Program
You can help Phoenix Children’s patients experience the benefits of animal-assisted therapy by making a gift to the 2021 Paws Can Heal campaign. Your donation will support the launch of the hospital’s new Facility Dog Program, which will expand access to animal-assisted therapy by adding two full-time therapy dogs.
Each dog will be paired with a trained specialist, with one pair dedicated exclusively to Child Life and the other to Rehabilitation Services. The addition of full-time therapy dogs will make animal-assisted therapy available to more patients and provide better continuity of care.
The Facility Dog Program is funded entirely by philanthropy—without the support of generous people like you, it would not be possible for Phoenix Children’s to have full-time therapy dogs. Your tax-deductible gift to Paws Can Heal will help us bring the healing power of animals to many more patients and their families.
Save the date! March 2022
2021 PAWS CAN HEAL COMMITTEE
Co-Chairs
Kimberly Jacobsen & Lee Courtney
Paws Can Heal Proud Partner:
About PetSmart Paws Can Heal Animal-Assisted Therapy
Dogs are a man’s best friend. They are also a patient’s best friend at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Funded completely by philanthropic support, the PetSmart Charities Paws Can Heal Animal-Assisted Therapy Program has grown to more than 50 therapy animal and owner teams. Animal-assisted therapy provides valuable physical and emotional benefits to children who are faced with a serious illness or injury. Visits from therapy dogs reduce stress levels, help kids forget about their pain and laugh and smile. While a patient may not want to participate in physical therapy, he/she may be willing to go on a walk with a therapy dog or throw a ball to a willing fetcher. Patients, siblings and parents often miss their own dogs, so visits from the therapy dogs provide a comforting sense of normalcy.