Seeking exceptionally well trained/well mannered dogs to visit in a hospital setting!

Want to make a difference & volunteer with your dog? Providence Saint John's Health Center's Pawsitive Pet Program is seeking exceptionally well trained/well-mannered dogs to visit patients and staff in our hospital setting.

Providence Saint John’s Health Center recognizes the many therapeutic benefits of therapy animal visitation. Therapy dog visits help promote a sense of normalcy to counteract the unfamiliar and often frightening experience that hospitalization can create. As a support to the “healing process” and “healing environment,” therapy dog visitation improves patient/family/staff morale and emotional well-being. In addition, it serves to bring humor to the bedside and open lines of communication.

Do you have a friendly, well-mannered dog that has a strong grasp of basic obedience commands? Would you like to help bring joy and comfort to the patients at Providence Saint John’s Health Center? If so, we are looking for great handler/dog teams to join us!

Is my animal appropriate for animal assisted therapy?

• Have you known your animal for at least six (6) months?
• Is your animal at least one (1) year old?
• Is your dog vaccinated for Rabies?
• Does your animal enjoy interacting with and being touched by people it doesn’t know? Meaning, does it stay in place, not exhibit anxiety or back away?
• Is your dog comfortable around medically fragile patients that may be cognitively impaired or have difficulty petting nicely?
• Is your animal confident in new environments? Does your dog seem calm and relaxed with new sights, sounds and smells?
• Is your animal always calm around other animals and controllable?
• Does your dog consistently sit, stay, down, heel, come, and leave it on command?
• Can your dog do these basic commands every time without treats?
• Does your dog walk on a loose leash? Can your dog walk next to you without you tugging or pulling on the leash?
• Is your dog’s behavior predictable, controllable and dependable? Can your dog do each basic command with ease and limited prompting?
• Is your dog polite around all other dogs (does not rush at, jump on, vocalize, bark at, growl at, snap at, or lunge towards dogs)?
• Is your dog polite around people (does not jump up onto people and does not bite, nip, or mouth people)?
• Does your dog do well around noisy equipment such as walkers, metal gurneys, wheelchairs, carts, strollers, bicycles, skateboards or machines?
• Does your dog eat a diet that does not contain raw foods? (Raw foods are not allowed)

If you answered "yes" to all of these questions, you and your animal show potential for animal assisted therapy work.

To join the Pawsitive Pet Program you will need to become registered as an official therapy dog team with Pet Partners. Don’t worry, if you aren’t one yet, we can help you through the process. All Pawsitive Pet Program volunteers will also need to be onboarded as Providence Saint John’s volunteer.

All we ask is that you visit at least twice per month for at least 1 year. The Pawsitive Pet Program volunteer experience is incredibly rewarding for the human as well as the dog. Be warned: it’s a difficult job coming into the hospital; getting pets, being told how adorable you are, and being the best part of someone’s day. We recommend lots of treats to make up for such ruff treatment.

If you are interested in learning more, please call Melissa Phillips, Coordinator, at (310) 829-8438.