Therapy dogs have been assisting people for more than 50 years, but it has been only the past 10 years that their support has expanded from visiting nursing homes and hospitals. The AIR Dogs: Paws for Minds program has helped expand the support of therapy dogs to mental wellness and suicide prevention programs in schools,…
With Covid-19 restrictions, all of the in-person school presentations and therapy visits have been on hold for months. However, AIR Dogs: Paws for Minds therapy team Joy Lindo and her dog Willow have found a way to make a difference during these tough times. Joy, an attorney for a New Jersey agency, has been regularly…
Chelsea Ruchlin, LSW, and her dog, Nellie, are a unique among the AIR Dogs: Paws for Minds therapy teams because they work together. Chelsea, a social worker and case manager at the Melvin H. Kreps Middle School, works with special education students and since becoming certified with Nellie last fall, her canine partner has become…
Today our little Miki turns 12. This little dog has been a part of our journey for all of his life. I remember Kenny saying, we don’t need another dog (Miki was dog 4)…but soon changed to, “Miki is a cool little dog.” After Kenny died, Miki was in tune with my grief and knew…
Linda Hobson has owned five therapy dogs over the years and has been an AIR Dogs: Paws for Minds Therapy volunteer for Attitudes in Reverse since 2011. “I just enjoy seeing the young people let their guard down,” said Linda. “ You can watch their whole body language change. They just melt.” Linda first met…
Like most AIR volunteers, Audrey Kilbride met AIR Co-founder Tricia Baker during a dog training class and has been involved with AIR ever since. For the past eight years, Audrey has been creating AIR Dog patches on her embroidery machine and sewing them onto the AIR Dog vests. Tricia discovered Audrey’s talents when she embroidered…
With Covid-19, our AIR Dogs: Paws for Minds Therapy Dogs are reaching out remotely to brighten your day! Here’s a peek at the favorite toys, friends and fun enjoyed by some of our AIR Therapy Dogs. We hope they make you all, especially kids, smile.
With people stuck at home due to safety restrictions caused by Covid-19, our AIR Therapy Dogs are reaching out to brighten your day using technology. This is Quincy (handler Marianne Geer), who had some fashionable fun with his human siblings.
AIR volunteers and AIR Dogs: Paws for Minds therapy dog teams are bringing In Their Shoes and AIR’s message around the Garden State for National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. As part of National Suicide Prevention Week (September 8-14), AIR brought In Their Shoes and therapy dog teams to Ocean County College and to the Suicide…
Yvonne Quinn had raised Packer from 7 weeks old to become a Seeing Eye dog. However, when he was sent back for his final training at 17 months old, Packer experienced gastrointestinal issues and could not complete his Seeing Eye education. After Yvonne took Packer back home, she decided pet therapy would be a great “career change,”…