Thank you for your interest in supporting the entirely donor-funded dog therapy program at CHLA. Your gifts are crucial to sustaining this beloved program.

Every single day, therapy dogs here do the rounds, helping to bring smiles, laughter and brighter spirits to hospitalized patients, clinic outpatients, siblings, parents and CHLA staff. The dog therapy program plays a critical role in the culture of CHLA -- helping to make this children's hospital a warm, familiar and welcoming place for the young people spending time here.

To work, the program relies on a roster of more than 100 specially trained and tested therapy dogs and their devoted human owners. Dogs come in all shapes and sizes - from tiny to giant, but each one has an enormous impact during regular shifts at CHLA.

Dogs visit at the bedside (or more commonly, snuggled up beside each patient on the bed) in nearly every hospital unit. They entertain patients waiting for They participate in physical and occupational therapy efforts for patients on the rehabilitation unit.

Everywhere they go, they help distract, support and motivate patients.

The program's mission is simple: deliver the known physical, social and emotional benefits of dog therapy to as many patients as possible as often as possible. Children who spend weeks, months, and even years in and out of treatment can track their visits by how many different dogs they've met and build a collection of keepsake trading cards to remind them of each special visit.

More than 1000 patients benefit from dog therapy visits every month. When family members, medical providers, visitors and other CHLA staff are factored in, the program reaches more than 60,000 individuals every year.

And yet, demand for our services still exceeds available resources, and your support enables us to grow and sustain this program.

Your tax-deductible donation of any size provides important immediate support and ensures that the benefits of this program are available to future CHLA patients and families, too.

More information about the dog therapy program is available at CHLA.org/DogTherapy

To learn more about this program, please visit https://youtu.be/MKeUAa1iEIQ.