If you’re out shopping at Winners and HomeSense today, you might be greeted at the door by a friendly pooch.
St. John Ambulance is ringing in National Therapy Dog Day at the local department store on Friday by sharing its therapy dogs with local shoppers.
From black labs to labradoodles and golden retrievers, six different dogs will be at the business throughout the day, each putting in an hour-long, tail-wagging shift until around 5 p.m. today.
“It's great to get out into the community with your dogs, and there's many retail places in town that allow dogs. Winners welcomes us with open arms,” said Joey Kirkwood, program coordinator.
“It’s a good opportunity for people to get out and see the kinds of dogs that we have.”
Kirkwood said the program brings therapy dogs to a wide variety of places to cheer people up, whether at hospitals, nursing homes, schools, support centres, among other places.
“Their job is to provide comfort, make friends, let people relax a little bit, lower stress, and make people happy. They don't have to work too hard at that job – they do it naturally,” she said.
“(We go to) places where people just need to take a deep breath and just feel a little bit better.”
In order to carry out its good work, St. John Ambulance is always looking for friendly dogs to join its roster.
“We're always looking for volunteers. If people think they have a dog who likes to be with people, enjoys getting out in the community, and you have a little bit of time that you'd like to donate to a good cause, we want to hear from you for sure,” Kirkwood said.
“If you have a dog who's just naturally calm and well behaved, they don't need much training.”
Learn more about the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog program here.