PAWS for People Community Newsletter: Late October, 2022

This year’s WAG & Walkathon in partnership with the Philadelphia Kennel Club's National Dog Show came to a glorious conclusion on Saturday at the Cross the Finish Line event at Glasgow Park. The gorgeous fall day was filled with fun and festivities for both people and pups. A joyful PAWS spirit was in the air as old friends and new gathered to connect and celebrate. We are so grateful to everyone who participated in this year’s event.

We had 210 participants wagging their tails on the trails for the cumulative marathon. They logged over 4,500 miles and helped us surpass our goal of $50,000 for the programs of PAWS for People. Because we reached our goal, we will receive the $10,000 matching gift from an anonymous group of donors! These funds will help ensure our pet therapy teams can continue to bring hope and healing to our local communities.

A special Thank You to the following people and businesses for all of their help in making this year's event a great success:

Our Amazing Committee

Sue Good, Marilyn Huebner, Dawn Kisner, Aileen Murray, Melanie Sieber, & Christina Summa

Photographers

Ted Rosenthal of Izmaddy Studios (watch for his photos soon on Facebook) and UD Volunteer Maddy Wilson

Business Partners

ChristianaCare; Concord Pet Food & Supplies; Hillside Heating & Cooling; Somewhere Stables

Sponsors

Top Dogs: Wawa Foundation; WSFS CARES Foundation

Bone-a-factors: CW Wealth Management Group at UBS; Dawson Drive LLC; Hamilton ADR-NC; SL24/Unlocke the Light Foundation; VCA Glasgow, Kirkwood, Pike Creek & Newark Animal Hospitals

Furry Friends: Boo Radley: Therapy Dog Extraordinaire; Century Engineering, A Kleinfelder Company; Delaware Subaru; Diver Chevrolet; Dragonfly's Wings; First State Urgent Vet; First Citizen’s Community Bank; Financial House; Ford’s Auto & Truck Service, Inc.; Mallard Financial Partners; The Mottola Group; Nonantum Veterinary Clinic; Pet Kare; Pettinaro Management, LLC; System 4 of Delaware; Windcrest Animal Hospital

Tail Waggers: Beebe Healthcare; Circle Veterinary Clinic; Dave Green’s Fair Hill Auto Center; Izzy’s Lawn Service, Inc.; Law Office of Kathryn A. Meloni, Esq.; Merrill Lynch Connell, Carey & Associates; TEAM David Associates; Team Oodles of Doodles & More

Everyone at PAWS, including the loving PAWS pet therapy dogs Tory, Bella, and Maizy, enjoyed welcoming 27 Discover Associates to the PAWS office on October 8th for the 2022 Discover Volunteer Project. What an impressive and incredibly organized and efficient group of fun and caring people! Their project to assemble 950 PAWS for Reading Bags will inspire learning and bring smiles to 950 young readers, as well as to their teachers and parents. PAWS can now present a great surprise to many young participants in the PAWS for Reading Programs in our area. 

A special thank you to Natalie Di Sabatino, Discover's Community Affairs Specialist, for coordinating this project, working with PAWS to ensure timely delivery of materials, and assembling the perfect group of Discover volunteers to make this co-branded project such a great success.

The 2022 Discover Volunteer Project was truly a wonderful and generous gift to PAWS for People! PAWS can't thank Discover enough for being so generous and committed to improving more lives by partnering with PAWS.

Fred (Lois Brooks) enjoys the perks of being a therapy dog while getting belly rubs and prom date proposals at Archmere Academy in Claymont, DE. 

Tessa (Nancy Brock) helped a young patient with her rehabilitation by playing follow the leader at Christiana Care Springside Rehabilitation in Glasgow, DE.

New news on the “benefits of pet therapy” front. A recent study proved that petting a dog for even 2 minutes improves mood and attention. We kind of knew that already, but the interesting thing is how they did the study and what the more detailed results were.

STUDY: humans were alone in a room with a dog. At first they were asked to relax, stare at the wall, and ignore the dog. The next 2 minutes they could watch the dog from a distance. Next the dog was brought close so the human could feel it but not touch it. Finally they were told to pet the dog for a time before returning to a neutral state at the end of their session.

Guess what they found? In measuring the levels of oxygenated blood in the human’s prefrontal cortices (controlling attention, emotional regulation, decision making, and other executive functions,) scientists found that as the level of contact with the dog increased, so did the oxygen in the prefrontal cortex. That means we become more emotionally engaged and attentive. 

And here’s the best part – “Interacting with a dog makes you more PRESENT IN THE MOMENT.” And the positive effect lasted after the dog left the room. When the same thing was tried using a warmed and weighted stuffed animal, the humans showed no oxygen changes. They wanted the dogs – and now we know another reason why.

~Lynne Robinson, Executive Director

Our PAWS dog training classes for November are open for registration! Whether you are just getting started or need to work on specific behaviors, we have the perfect class for you!

Save the date for the National Dog Show featuring up to 2,000 canines, representing almost 200 breeds in a two-day event held at the Greater Philadelphia’s Expo Center at Oaks. This year, the dates are Saturday, November 19, and Sunday, November 20. Admission is $16 for adults, $7 for children 4-12 and free for children 3 and under. Tickets and more information can be found at https://nds.nationaldogshow.com. The Kennel Club of Philadelphia is a non-profit organization and proud partner of PAWS for People, helping to raise money for a variety of canine-related causes. 

Aileen & Lucy

Aileen Murray joined PAWS in November of 2012, first visiting with her beloved, Meisha. Aileen added her lovable and cuddly Lucy, the Labradoodle, in March of 2018. Aileen and Lucy earned their Master's Certification, so they were able to visit with the kids and staff at Nemours Children’s Hospital. They have done many amazing visits with the kids at Brick Mill and McVey Elementary schools, and the folks at Abbey Manor, Cadia Rehab and the Ronald McDonald House. Aileen also visits patients at Tunnell Cancer Center and Beebe Medical Center. She and Lucy are regular visitors at many PAWS Community Events.

Aileen’s support of PAWS does not end there. She is also an amazing office volunteer, who helps coordinate our Dog Training classes and manages the PAWSWear available on the PAWS website. Aileen has volunteered more than 3,100 hours! She participates with several committees to assist in getting our larger events to run like clockwork.

Thank you, Aileen and Lucy, for sharing your never-ending support of your community. The heartfelt and supportive visits you provide are a perfect example of the unconditional love and kindness that pet therapy visits can bring to those in need.

Ellen & Kallie

Ellen Dahl and her precious Goldendoodle, Kallie, started their PAWS journey in the Spring of 2019. Immediately after graduating OST, they became Beebe Volunteers and started at Tunnell Cancer Center, where they continue to delight staff and patients with their calm and friendly presence.

In the Summer of 2019, Ellen and Kallie started going to Brandywine Senior Living, where they visited residents in Memory Care until the pandemic brought everything to a screeching halt. 

Then in January of this year, the Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill, in Smyrna, requested PAWS teams for a pilot study to determine the effects of pet therapy on their patients. Ellen and Kallie participated in this special opportunity, which was very well received and proved quite successful.

Cheers and many thanks to Ellen and Kallie for being such a devoted, dependable and extraordinary PAWS team.  

Thanks to our PAWS Partners