PetPals NC connects therapy dog teams with students who need them

PetPals NC is a group that connects people and animals by recruiting therapy dog teams to work with K-12 children in school settings. They do not do the therapy dog training, rather they serve as a bridge between school officials, teachers, and counselors and the therapy dog teams.

“We currently serve multiple schools in North Carolina within Orange County, Chapel Hill – Carrboro, and Durham districts . . . and we have numerous requests for new teams, so we hope to raise funds needed to continue our growth.”

Students are selected for the program by their counselor or other school official and that individual also helps plan and direct the session while the dog handler monitor’s and facilitates the interactions between the student and the dog. At this time, there are only dog teams working with PetPals, but they are open to including teams with other animals, like cats.

Here are some of the things the dogs may do in schools:

“Services provided are called Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA) and Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), both similar, but AAT is more involved (specifically planned interventions that are goal-directed, designed for a particular student, and progress is measured).

Students can be worked with individually, or in small or large groups.

Whole classrooms might be involved, such as in presentations about animal care or humane education. Depending on the task, work can take place in the classroom, in offices, or outside.

Examples of Pet-Assisted Interventions in Schools:

– Practice teaching the animal something new using sequencing.

– Practice reading and articulation

– Learn about and practice care, watering, and feeding of the animal

– Manipulate vest zippers and collar buckles

– Brush and pet

– Remember and repeat information about the animal to others

– Take the animal for a supervised walk

– Receive and give appropriate affection and acceptance with the animal

– Discuss how animals may feel in certain situations and compare to humans

– Learn gentle ways to handle animals

– Signal and/or verbalize commands”

You can learn more about PetPals NC on their website, linked above, and on their social media channels, Facebook and Instagram.

To volunteer go here!

ABR American Brittany Rescue

ABR’s mission is to provide the leadership and expertise via a network of trained volunteers to take in stray, abandoned, surrendered and/or impounded purebred Brittanys, provide them with foster care, health and temperament screening, an opportunity for any necessary rehabilitation and to assure their health and placement into new homes. In order to fulfill this mission, ABR’s volunteers remain flexible and adaptable to current and future business environments and they remain dedicated to the organization.

Brittanys can make wonderful family dogs and excel in many areas, but they are not for everyone. They are active, playful, energetic dogs who require personal attention every day. If you’d like to learn whether a Brittany is a good choice for you, your family and/or your lifestyle, please read Choosing a Brittany. Although many rescued dogs do hunt with their new families, ABR's primary concern is finding homes where they will be a valued member of the family.

To see more about these beautiful babies check out their website at https://americanbrittanyrescue.org/ or follow them on Facebook Twitter or Instagram

Facilitate Rescue, Inc!

Saving Homeless Cats - 9 lives at a time

Looking to become a new cat owner or to foster then Facilitate Rescue may have what you are looking for.

Facilitate Rescue Inc is a cat rescue based in Harnett County, North Carolina. With the help of fosters, volunteers and donations, they rescue many cats and kittens each year from the Harnett County Shelter in Lillington, NC. They also take in kittens and cats from the community. Facilitate Rescue is dedicated to saving cats in danger of euthanasia. Each cat that comes into the rescue goes into a foster home where they are socialized and nurtured until ready for their fur-ever home.

Check out their website Facilitate Rescue Inc

Follow them on Facebook to keep up to date with their events!

Click image below to check out more of their adoptables!