 Helping Paws Internationaltm/sm
is a non-profit,
pet assisted therapy organization based in
Raleigh, North Carolina. We are composed of
members along with their therapy or
assistance dogs. Our purpose is to assist
healthcare as well as other facilities and
individuals to improve the quality of life for
patients and staff by providing therapeutic
pet-human interaction.
We believe there
is no greater therapy than the love of a
pet and the compassionate understanding of
another human being.
Helping
Paws
Internationaltm
was started in September 2000 following a
discussion among a few greyhound owners
about pet therapy and what wonderful pet
therapists our gentle, loving rescued
greyhounds would make.
While
the majority of our current pet therapists are
rescued racing greyhounds, we do accept all
breeds of dogs, greater than one year in age
into our program. We have a training program
that culminates in the dogs receiving their
AKC Canine Good Citizenship certification and
their Helping Paws Therapy Dog certification.
In addition, there are plans to add other
types of pets to our program at a later date.
Helping Paws Internationaltm/sm
is a non-profit organization. We do not
charge to visit a facility. Our funding
comes from fundraisers, donations and
corporate sponsors. The funds are used to
provide insurance, training and supplies for
our members and their pets such as small
holiday surprises for the facilities we
visit on a regular basis.
Helping Paws was started in the spring of
2000 by a group of rescued-racing
greyhound owners from the Raleigh, N. C.
Optimist Park Playgroup following a discussion
about pet therapy
and what wonderful pet therapists our gentle,
loving rescued greyhounds would make.
After contacting Pat Bleich of Greyhound
Friends Pet Therapy
in Greensboro, NC, the necessary information
was gathered on starting a pet assisted therapy
program and in September 2000 we made our
first therapy
dog visit to Litchford Healthcare as GreytTherapySM.
Our deepest appreciation goes to
Pat Bleich for her help in getting our group
started. As we grew we changed our name
to Triangle GreytTherapySM
Greyhounds and then to Helping Paws
of North Carolina when our teams wanted
to add their other dog breeds as pet
therapists. We recently started doing business
as Helping Paws International to reflect our
teams in other states.
In 2005 we started
training assistance dogs by helping people
train their family dog to assist a family
member with certain daily tasks. Our assistance
dog teams initially take the Helping Paws
CGC-Therapy Dog certification program as
their base training. Following completion
of this this initial training, the
assistance dog teams will have additional
training focused on the skills needed by
the handler. The
assistance dog training is based on the
availability of our trainers.
Click on above logo for BARKS
information!
Helping Paws Internationaltm/sm
also offers a canine reading assistance
program to local schools, libraries, and
adults needing to learn to read and speak
again. The program, called B.A.R.K.S. ©
(Bonding, Animals, Reading, Kids, and Safety) is a
therapy animal reading-assistance program to
help children & adults develop a love for
reading, over-come learning problems and build
self-esteem. The program also teaches pet
safety and care, along with interpersonal
communication skills.
If you are interested in
joining Helping Paws Internationaltm/sm,
having us visit your facility or just need more
information, please check our contact page.
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Internationaltm/sm
