The Community Therapy Dogs, formerly known as the Chestermere Therapy Dogs, have held their annual AGM on April 9 in the Chestermere public library.
The organization reported they have seen some growth to their program by going from a presence in 14 schools to gaining presence in 27 schools.
They have also gained a greater presence in Airdrie and a new presence in Carstairs and Cochrane.
Other growth to the Community Therapy Dogs includes volunteers, dogs, and events being held by them.
The organization also held their first volunteer appreciation evening.
The evening included dinner, music and speeches from various people within the organization.
The Community Therapy Dogs is an organization that was born out of a vision to help improve lives with therapy dogs.
“Chestermere Therapy Dogs Society (CTDS) was born out of a vision to help people add value to their lives through association with therapy dogs,” said their website.
The organization was founded in 2013 and was effective on December 30, 2013.
The first organization, Listening Tails, started soon after providing an opportunity for kids to gain confidence by reading to dogs so they wouldn’t have a fear of judgement.
They then started their second program, Visiting Tails, soon after on March 26, 2013, just eight days after Listening Tails started.
Visiting Tails is a program that allows old folks and people who need visits a chance to get a visit from dogs.
They then started their third program Caring Tails a bit later in the January of 2015 with a visit to Chestermere High School to help students cope with stress and anxiety they may face.
The programs and support for the organization have only grown with them as they now reach other areas outside of Chestermere, hence the change from Chestermere Therapy Dogs to Community Therapy Dogs.
