Sweet Charity Medical Assistance Dogs
Registered Name: Sweet Charity Medical Assistance Dogs
Business No: 822385035RR0001
This organization is designated by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as a registered charity. They comply with the CRA's requirements and has been issued a charitable registration number.
Sweet Charity trains dogs to support and improve the social/emotional health and well-being of children and youth.
Sweet Charity Medical Assistance Dogs, a Canadian Registered Charity (#82238 5035 RR0001) in Barrie, Ontario exists to train dogs for children and youth who need them. It is our goal to offer the highest quality of standardized ambassador and service dog training in a caring, professional, and accessible manner. Working primarily in Simcoe County, our mission is to work with individuals, schools and other organizations to improve the social/emotional health and well-being of children and youth. In two programs, the Canine Ambassador Program (CAP) and the Personal Support Service Dog Program (PSSD), canine assisted activities and canine intervention strategies, provide motivational, educational, recreational, and therapeutic benefits to participants.
Through our two programs, trained and certified dogs bond with children/youth to support the development of long-term emotional regulation and pro-social behaviours. The Personal Service Dog Program (PSSD) trains dogs to become working service dogs as defined under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. The Canine Ambassador Program (CAP), a Facility Dog Program, works with staff members at K-12 schools and colleges to train their dogs to become mental health ambassador dogs in their respective school communities. Research conducted by Georgian College indicates the efficacy of CAP in meeting the needs of participating students, positively impacting well-being through reduced anxiety, stress, and isolation.
Through the PSSD, Sweet Charity partners with youth aged 8-25 with diagnosed psychiatric disabilities (such as Autism, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, etc.) to provide them with service dogs. This is a rigorous training process which takes two or more years to complete, and which involves extensive training for both dogs and their disabled handlers. Within the training period each puppy learns manners, obedience, a minimum of three tasks related to the handler’s specific medically-documented needs, and public access behaviour.
Through the CAP Program, Sweet Charity trains school staff members and their pet dogs to work as ambassador dog/handler teams. Once certified, staff bring their dogs in-vest into school with them regularly to help enhance emotional support for students and foster overall well-being in the school community. In this unique program, the certified canine ambassador provides this support by attending school daily. Currently fifty teams worked in sixty K-12 schools with the Simcoe County District School Board, as well as with Georgian College, serving approximately thousand's of children/youth annually.
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