Paws'itive Animal Assisted Therapy (PAAT) Program

The PAAT program was established to provide comfort, company and goal directed assistance for those in healthcare and education facilities. This program is also involved in various educational programs within schools and throughout the community. Seeing your dog change lives while working beside you and under the direction of a professional healthcare worker or counselor, could be one of the most rewarding experiences in your life. It will be something that you and your dog will eagerly anticipate. And you will find yourself searching for new ways to teach your dog tasks and behaviors that will enhance the goals set by the healthcare professional. We believe that life is more precious when trust, unconditional love and respect exist as the primary bond between animals and people.

What is Goal-Directed Therapy?

Goal-Directed therapy is significantly different from the usual "meet and greet" hospital and nursing home type of animal assisted activities. In the Paws'itive Teams' PAAT program, the dogs are used for a specific purpose to help clients (children and adults) achieve clearly defined therapy goals as set by their therapist or teacher. This is done by working in partnership with trained professionals who direct the sessions and set specific treatment goals

Relationship with Facilities

We partner with facilities within San Diego who serve a wide variety of populations that can benefit from interactions with carefully selected dogs. It is essential that our involvement includes a close relationship with health/human service professionals who set goals for their clients, centered around the activities our therapy dog teams provide. A part of our program includes the requirement of measurement tools developed by the facility staff so that we know that our efforts are truly resulting in goals being met as a result of the activities which include our canine teams.

For more information about our PAAT Programs:
Description of Sites: [site-description.pdf]
Description of program: [descriptionPAAT.pdf]
Or send an email to our PAAT Volunteer Coordinator by clicking here

After reading the introduction and pre-requisites, we invite you to click on this link to take you to the application form itself.

After reading the introduction and pre-requisites below, we invite you to click on the link at the bottom to take you to the application form itself.

Personal Paws Program

The mission of Personal Paws is to bring individualized comfort to people who may benefit from the interaction with, and unconditional love of, a do.

Personal Paws is our newest therapy dog program and provides a unique opportunity. In this program, clients apply to participate in this program. They are then matched with therapy dog teams for one-on-one, on-going, interactive visitations. The visits may take place in the client's home, a nearby park, or perhaps at the Paws'itive Teams Training Center. This unique approach to therapy dog volunteering enables therapy dog teams to develop close relationships with individuals on an on-going basis.

A Typical Personal Paws Visit
A typical Personal Paws visit may include activities such as tossing the ball or toy, brushing the dog, reading a favorite book to the dog, going for a short walk, perhaps even teaching the dog a new trick. And of course, the client may choose to snuggle with the dog. Most visits last about an hour and are scheduled two to four times a month over an extended period of time. In addition to the handler and dog, each visit includes another Paws'itive Teams volunteer called a Team Manager.

The Matching Process
Because this program is designed to give one-on-one dog interactions with clients, the matching process is very important. We strive to limit driving times for both our volunteers and our clients by placing teams within geographic areas. We also look at activity levels of both clients and dogs, times and days requested for visits, presence of other animals in the house, and special needs of clients

Personal Paws Clients
We are seeking individuals who would appreciate on-going visits with certified therapy dog teams. Our program is for people of all ages and abilities. Many of our clients have physical or developmental disabilities. Do you know someone who needs a special fur friend? If so, someone in the family should give us a call at 858-279-7297 and leave a message on our voice mail. A volunteer will return the call within a week to get additional information about the request. There is no cost to the client for this program.

Team Managers
Each client visit includes 2 volunteers and one dog. In addition to the dog handler, we need a person without a dog to facilitate the visit. Team Managers are partnered with individual handlers and clients. Handlers can also recruit their own Team Managers from friends, neighbors, or family members. All Team Managers will receive Orientation Training.

Team Manager roles include serving as liaison between Dog/Handler Teams and Clients, coordinating the schedule for follow-up visits, participating actively in each visit, and submitting a short visit report after each visit.
To Apply, click here

For more information about our Personal Paws program:
Description for potential volunteers: [PP description volunteers.pdf]
Description for potential clients: [ PP overview description.pdf]
Or send an email to the Personal Paws Director, at personalpaws@pawsteams.org

After reading the introduction and pre-requisites, we invite you to click on this link to take you to the application form itself.