Thank you for visiting my fundraising page in honor of the 25th anniversary year of Dog Therapy at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.   

On June 6th, my family will once again walk from the Santa Monica pier surrounded by fellow dog therapy teammates, hospital employees and clinicians from different specialties, and patient families who understand all too well the importance of CHLA to the care of the most vulnerable kids in our region.  

I first became involved with CH:A's Dog Therapy Program more than 18 years ago, as a volunteer with my first therapy dog. What began as a highly personal way to give back to my community transformed into a deeply meaningful professional career.  For the past 13 years, I've had the privilege of helming the program's growth into one of the most robust and innovative animal assisted intervention (aka "dog therapy") programs anywhere, and this growth has been entirely sustained by philanthropy.  Because of donors like you, I've helped ensure more than a million dog therapy interactions - from hundreds of different and uniquely wonderful dog therapy teams who've come up through this program.

Dog therapy encounters are both exactly what you'd imagine - pets and snuggles and giggles and pictures - and so much more.   Each interaction is also an evidence-informed intervention designed to reduce fear, anxiety, distress, pain and help children engage more successfully in their care.  That might mean supporting a patient who's fearful about needing a needle stick in the Emergency Department, or one who's motivated to persist in uncomfortable physical therapy exercises with a dog by their side.  It may mean a carefully-prepared, thoroughly non-judgmental dog friend snuggling in bed and simply offering an opportunity for calm quiet comfort.  

Through a unique hybrid model of highly trained volunteer and resident therapy dog teams, CHLA's program delivers more than 123,000 interactions each year across 41 clinical areas.  Dogs visit inpatient units, outpatient clinics, rehabilitation, the emergency department, and more.   The dogs also provide comfort to families and meaningful support to healthcare providers. 

This year, in honor of the program's 25th anniversary, I've set the somewhat daunting goal of personally raising $25,000 towards annual operations.  Please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any size to support this goal, or spread the word to others who may be interested. If just 100 people can donate $250 each, we'll reach this target.