Canine Ambassador Program
Sweet Charity offers a Canine Ambassador Program to staff/dog teams for settings such as hospitals, seniors’ residences, nursing homes, schools, libraries, colleges and universities. The presence of a trained staff/pet team will enhance the school/business environment as the dog and the handler promote positive socialization and calm interaction.
CAP Training & Waitlist
2024-2025 dates, times and locations, for both certification and re-certification, can be downloaded here: Canine Ambassador Program Dates
Before committing to having your dog assessed for program suitability, please be sure to have read the section below on Prospective CAP Dog Requirements.
If you would like to be put on a waiting list please fill in and submit the following form: Interest In CAP Certification Form.
Prospective CAP Dog Requirements
- Must be a minimum of 1 year or older, and be spayed/neutered
- Must have lived with the handler in the home for at least 6 months
- House trained
- Have current vaccinations/ titer testing and kept unto date while in the CAP program
- Demonstrate good/excellent basic obedience skills including: sit, down, stay, recall, heel and leave it
- Obedience commands are to be given and maintained without food, luring or physical manipulation:
- Dogs are to walk at their handlers side on a loose leash without training aids such as walking harness, halts, prongs etc
- Dog are to be well groomed, kept free of doors, groomed and nails trimmed while participating in the CAP
- Handlers to have good and positive interaction with their dog including instructing, cuing and rewarding
- The dog must have no signs or history of aggression towards people or domestic animals
- The dog must be confident, friendly and accepting of strangers with no signs of being fretful, timid or shy.
Training
Sweet Charity’s Canine Assistance Program includes:
- an assessment of dog suitability
- 10 hours of handler/dog training
- Canadian Kennel Club Canine Good Neighbour certification
- Sweet Charity’s Obedience and Control Test
- a visit from a trainer to the site within the year after implementation
- ongoing communication with the trainer and site administrator, once the teams are active in the location
Our training reflects the understanding of the human/canine bond and the therapeutic benefits that this relationship can provide to a community.
Costs & Payment
The training for each ambassador team costs $600. Annual re-certification will take place at the end of the second and third year of implementation at a cost of $50.00 each.
Upon receiving an invoice, please make your payment using our secure online payment tool.
Documented Impact
In October 2016, Howard Bloom, PhD- Professor and Coordinator Child and Youth Care Program, Deborah M. Scharf, PhD- Research and Evaluation Services, and Garrett Hilborn – Research Analyst compiled the research report entitled “Implementation of the Sweet Charity Ambassador Dog Program in Simcoe County District School Board: A Pilot Study”. Here is an exerpt from their report conclusion: “The results of this pilot program suggest that the Sweet Charity Ambassador Program had a positive impact on the staff and students involved. In particular, students and staff reported that the dogs helped create a welcoming and warm environment in the service areas that they were located, and that they also helped improve student well being through reducing stress, anxiety and conflict”. Read the rest of the research report by following this link: Sweet Charity Ambassador Dog Program Final Research Report In August 2017 the updated research report “Outcomes and Experiences of the Sweet Charity Canine Ambassador Program (CAP) – Children and Youth Mental Health” was published after the team’s subsequent research. Read the stage 2 report here: Sweet Charity Canine Ambassador Program STAGE 2 Final Research Report
