Hudson Valley Paws for a Cause | Pet Therapy
Emotional Support through Pet Therapy | Learning Assistance through Dog Therapy
Benefits of Pet Therapy/
Animal Assisted Activities
Our dogs encourage children to improve their reading skills in schools and libraries. Often a child who is unsure of him/herself will relax and read to a dog, who are non-judgmental. The therapy dogs can help to engage the child in social interactions with others. We visit students during exam weeks to de-stress by interacting with our dogs before and between exams. Our program also supports the Red Cross Blood Drive’s efforts. Throughout the year, we organize educational programs for people to learn more about the benefits of pet therapy/animal assisted activities. The image below encapsulates how we utilize these three specialties to reinforce the benefits of pet therapy/animal assisted activities.
Throughout the year we participate and organize multiple venues for everyone to take advantage of. Here are some of the venues that we were or are currently are a part of:
Red Cross Events/Service to the Armed Forces Program
- West Point Elementary School – West Point, NY
- West Point Middle School – West Point, NY
- West Point Paws for Kids – West Point, NY
- West Point Cadet DeStress – West Point, NY
- West Point Blood Drives – West Point, NY
- Greenwich Blood Drives – Greenwich, CT
- West Point Wee Read Program – West Point, NY
- Veterans Hospital – Montrose, NY
- Veterans Nursing Home – Montrose, NY
- Army Reserves Pre and Post Deployment Sessions – Orangeburg, NY
- Army Reserves Pre and Post Deployment Sessions – Saugerties, NY
- Army Reserves Pre and Post Deployment Sessions – Newburgh, NY
- Emergency Preparedness Events – Various different locations
- Blue Star Family Coffee Connect – Kingston, NY
- Veterans Appreciation Day – Renegades Stadium – Wappingers Falls, NY
School Paws Program
- Montebello Elementary School – Montebello, NY
- St. Dominic’s Elementary School – Blauvelt, NY
- Roxbury Elementary School – Stamford, CT
- The Spire School – Stamford, CT
- Monhagen Middle School – Middletown, NY
- Hagen Elementary School – Poughkeepsie, NY
- Prime Time – New City, NY
- Highland Falls Middle School – Highland Falls, NY
- Chester Elementary School – Chester, NY
- Cherry Lane Elementary School – Suffern, NY
- BOCES of Yorktown, Yorktown Heights, NY
- MacArthur Barr Middle School – Nanuet, NY
- Columbus Elementary School – Thornwood, NY
- Pearl River High School – Pearl River, NY
- EF Academy – Thornwood, NY
- Leptondale Elementary School – Wallkill, NY
- Roy C. Ketchum HS – Wappingers Falls, NY
- Suffern HS, Suffern – NY
- Glenville Elem School – Greenwich, CT
- Clarkstown High School – West Nyack, NY
- The Children’s Home of Kingston – Kingston, NY
- Adaptive Egg Hunt for children with disabilities – Lagrangeville, NY
- Sensory Egg Hunt – Otisville, NY
College DeStress Programs
- SUNY New Paltz – New Paltz, NY
- U-Conn – Stamford, CT
- Dominican College – Orangeburg, NY
- Saint Thomas Aquinas – Sparkill, NY
- Mount Saint Mary – Newburgh, NY
- Marist College – Poughkeepsie, NY
- Berkeley School – White Plains, NY
- Touro College – Hawthorne, NY
- Norwalk Community College – Norwalk, CT
- Hackley School – Tarrytown, NY
- Bard College – Annandale-on- Hudson, NY
- Tappan Zee High School – Orangeburg, NY
R.E.A.D. Library Programs
- Tuxedo – Tuxedo Park, NY
- Pearl River Library – Pearl River, NY
- Rose Memorial – Stony Point, NY
- Haverstraw Kings Daughters – Haverstraw, NY
- Peekskill Field Library – Peekskill, NY
- Highland Falls Library – Highland Falls, NY
- Gardiner Library – Gardiner, NY
- Marlboro Library – Marlboro, NY
- Cornwall Library – Cornwall, NY
- Plattekill Public Library – Plattekill, NY
- Moffat Library – Washingtonville, NY
- Dobbs Ferry Library – Dobbs Ferry, NY
- Woodbury Library – Highland Mills, NY
- Desmond Fish Library – Garrison, NY
Hospital Programs
- Nyack Hospital – Nyack, NY
- Putnam Hospital – Carmel, NY
- Good Samaritan – Suffern, NY
- Silver Hill Hospital – New Canaan
- Stamford Hospital – Stamford, CT
- Hospice – Rockland County
- Hospice – Norwalk, CT
- Hospice – Danbury, CT
- Mid – Hudson Hospital – Poughkeepsie
- Keller US Army Hospital – West Point, NY
- Ronald McDonald House – Valhalla, NY
- Resource Recovery of Orange County – Middletown, NY
Adult Center/Nursing Homes
- Bethel Nursing Home – Croton, NY
- Meals on Wheels, Bobby Lewis Center – Nanuet, NY
- Meals on Wheels Ramapo – New City, NY
- Friedwald Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation – New City, NY
- ARC of Rockland – Congers, NY
- ARC of Rockland – Valley Cottage, NY
- ARC of Westchester – Mt. Kisco, NY
- Camp Venture – Stony Point, NY
- Regal Nursing Home – Greenwich, CT
- Terkel Independent Living Senior Center – Suffern, NY
- Open Arms – Haverstraw, NY
- Good Samaritan Hospital Inpatient – Airmont, NY
- Esplanade – Palisades, NY
- YAI – Tarrytown, NY
- Dept of Mental Health – Stamford, CT
- Regan Residence – Port Chester, NY
- Promenade – Chestnut Ridge, NY
- Sapphire Nursing Home – Newburgh, NY
- McClelland Home – Brewster, NY
- Putnam Ridge Nursing Home – Brewster, NY
- Brightview Assisted Living – Tarrytown, NY
- Brightview Assisted Living – Orangeburg, NY
- Bethel Nursing Home – Croton NY
- Bethel Assisted Living – Croton NY
- Camp Venture – Stony Point, NY
- The Enclave – Rye, NY
- Crestview Manor Assisted Living – Hawthorne, NY
- White Plains Nursing – White Plains, NY
- Yorktown Rehab Center – Cortland Manor, NY
- Abilis, Advancing Abilities for People with Special Needs – Greenwich, CT
- Abilis, Advancing Abilities for People with Special Needs – Stamford, CT
- Rehab Support Service – Monticello, NY
- Sullivan County PROS – Monticello, NY
- Artis Assisted Living – Spring Valley, NY
- Atria Senior Living – Briarcliff Manor, NY
- Atria Senior Living – New City, NY
- Center for Safety & Change, New City, NY
- Philipstown Behavioral Health – Cold Spring, NY
- The Sentinel of Mohegan Lake – Mohegan Lake, NY
- Woodland Pond – New Paltz, NY
New Jersey Venues
- Valley Middle School – Oakland, NJ
- Southern Ocean Medical Center – Manahawkin, NJ
- Genesis Nursing and Rehab Center – Manahawkin, NJ
- Manahawkin Nursing and Rehab Center – Manahawkin, NJ
- Atria Assisted Living Facility – Manahawkin, NJ
- Interfaith Senior and Hospice Services – Manahawkin, NJ
- Green Acres Nursing and Rehab Center – Lakewood NJ
- Juvenile Detention Center of Ocean County – Toms River, NJ
- Silver Bay Elementary School (R.E.A.D. Program) – Toms River, NJ
- Specialized Children’s’ Hospital – Toms River, NJ
- N.J. Institute for Disabilities – Toms River, NJ
- N.J. Institute for Disabilities – Barnegat, NJ
- Barnegat Nursing and Rehab Center – Barnegat, NJ
- Spring Oak Assisted Living Facility – Lanoka Harbor, NJ
- Crystal Lake Nursing and Rehab Center – Bayville, NJ
- Tallwoods Nursing and Rehab Center – Bayville, NJ
- Berkeley Township School District (R.E.A.D. Program) – Berkeley, NJ
- Various Boy and Girl Scout Troops – Lacey Township, NJ
- Private One-on-One visits – Various Townships, NJ
Workplace DeStress Programs
- Indeed – Greenwich, CT
- GE Capital – Norwalk, CT
- Random Hacks of Kindness – Greenwich, CT
- SwissRe – Armonk, NY
- Amazon Warehouse – Rock Tavern, NY
We have recently engaged in using animal assisted activities/pet therapy to help people going through hardships. Here are our most recent responses:
Recent Responses to Disaster/Emotional Upheaval
- West Point Military Academy – response to the death of a cadet – West Point, NY
- Roxbury Elementary School – response to a family death – Stamford, CT
- EF Academy – response to terror threat – school lockdown – Thornwood, NY
- Pet Trailer – response to a house fire – Bronx, NY
- Pearl River HS – response to car accident death of a student – Pearl River, NY
