4Paws Learning and Wellness Center, Inc.
The primary mission of 4Paws is to enhance and promote the special bond that humans and
animals share through a variety of learning and wellness programs and volunteer service programs. Our
client base is located in Napa, Sonoma, Marin and San Francisco counties.
The two current programs 4Paws offers are canine-assisted social therapy and canine-assisted
learning. Over 30 volunteer social therapy teams visit adults and children who are dealing with traumatic
illness or disease, such as diabetes, cancer or heart failure; or patients in physical rehabilitation after
serious injury or surgery. Other teams visit adult daycare clients, hospice patients, assisted-living
residents and veterans in state homes. Depending on facility census, teams see at least 150 to 200 patients,
residents, family and staff members per week.
Equally important are the 4Paws learning programs for younger students. Currently some 70
teams visit schools, libraries and Boys and Girls Clubs in Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties. Through
Readers of the Pack, children earn free books by making regular visits to local libraries. In classrooms,
children are awarded bookmarks and pencils to encourage reading at home and writing to their canine
pals. The number of children who are helped by our canine teams ranges between 300-350 per week.
Both of these innovative programs use canines to address critical health and educational needs of
many vulnerable adults and children in our communities, and thereby fulfills 4Paws mission to promote
the special bond humans and animals share.
The measurable outcomes that volunteers, patients, hospital staff and family members have
witnessed in the social therapy programs are verified by over 30 years of research proving how dogs can
contribute significantly to a person’s health. Staff members have repeatedly remarked how a patient’s
blood pressure normalizes during a dog visit. That is one of the first documented health benefits that
researchers verified in the early 1980’s. A dog’s visit can also reduce the pain a patient feels, a response
that is verified by a Marin physician and pain specialist who supports the work of 4Paws social therapy
teams.
Canine intervention can also decrease the incidence and severity of depression. On days that
teams visit assisted living venues, residents become more animated and social. At the Yountville Veterans
Home, reclusive members who self-isolate are more inclined to dress and join a day-room activity when a
dog is present. Staff members have also told volunteer teams that their patients have been more positive
for days after the visits. Research confirms that the endorphins released from therapeutic animal-human
interaction can have long-lasting affects. (Space restrictions do not all me to describe the myriad ways—
also documented—that dogs help people with healthcare issues.)
The Readers of the Pack is a literacy program that supports children in classroom and library
environments. Our canine-assisted learning teams primarily focus on children with learning deficits or
who are not native English speakers. Teachers have said that our teams make children “love” to read;
that our teams have put books back into children’s lives. Reading specialists and teachers now rely on our
teams to motivate their most reluctant readers. Earlier this year, UC Davis researchers confirmed that
children who read to dogs regularly increased both reading levels and comprehension. It appears that
children take heart from their non-judgmental “buddy” and will try to read when other methods seem
too demanding or difficult.
Clearly, canines can and do improve the health and lives of people and that is half of the
human/animal bond: animals helping people. The second half, which is truly innovative, is enhancing
the lives of pets—not just dogs—through wellness and learning programs made available to their people.
4Paws envisions a place where animals can benefit from therapy programs and their owners
from learning programs to enrich their lives. Just like their owners, pets suffer from many of the same
diseases—from diabetes to cancer and even dementia. While 4Paws offerings are distinct from and not a
substitution for veterinary medical care, their goal is 1) to help pet owners learn about complementary
therapies, nutrition and animal behavior in order to enhance their relationship with pets, and 2) to
provide these therapies in one location in the North Bay area. These programs include:
2010 Excellence Awards Nominee: 4Paws, Inc.
Hydrotherapy and Massage: Animals who are recovering from surgery, injury or illness can stretch and
exercise in water without bearing weight on fragile joints or compromised musculature. Massage helps
blood to reach injured tissues, stimulates nerves and helps to remove toxins from the body. Physical
rehabilitation is as important to animals as it is to humans and veterinarian schools across the country are
adding both classes for students and rehab services for their clients.
Acupuncture and Acupressure: These therapies can provide immediate relief from pain, aid in hospice
palliative care for animals, and address physical and emotional distress. (UC Davis Veterinary Teaching
Hospital now offers these services due to their recognized benefits.)
Nutrition: Helping pet owners understand their pets’ nutritional requirements gives owners options that
meet the pet’s needs and the owner’s ability to provide appropriate and healthful foods.
Hospice palliative care: Deciding when to end a pet’s life is a painful, nearly impossible decision.
Palliative care, such as massage or acupuncture can help reduce a pet’s suffering, while emotional
support and grief counseling can help owners make better choices without fear or guilt.
Exercise courses: Imagine dedicated acreage not for a dog “park”, but an exercise course that offers
challenges for both humans and dogs. One station challenges an owner to a series of sit-ups, their dog
will practice a series of obedience skills, such as sit, lie down and roll-over. Another station teaches
stretching exercises for humans and fetching games for the dog. Such a course is an important component
in enriching the lives and relationship of pets and people.
Positive training and canine behavior classes: The incidence of dog bites and aggression can be reduced if
children, parents and pet owners better understand dog behavior and how canines signal distress, fear
and protectiveness. Demonstrations and mini-classes could easily be incorporated into the school
curriculum, especially in the primary and elementary grades.
These examples are the core of what 4Paws hopes to offer—in addition to its canine-assisted
therapy and learning programs—as a way for humans to help animals. To date, there are no other places
or organizations that offer the public such a holistic approach to animal care, or that promote the
human/animal bond through services to both pets and their people.
The 4Paws organizers are not alone in their belief that these kinds of services are needed. With
donations for a silent auction from pet-related businesses, wineries, and local merchants, 4Paws raised
$3200 on November 21. Even though volunteers had less than two months to plan the event, they were
determined to make 4Paws’ first public fundraiser a success—and they did. 4Paws has also received
nearly $4000 in donations in since October 1, and a grant is promised from the Philanthropic Services
Group of the Denver Foundation. Additionally, 4Paws is part of both Kaiser-Permanente’s and
Medtronic’s employee donation programs. It is clear that 4Paws has broad public support and appeal.
The 4Paws volunteer staff is committed to initiating programs in 2011 in nutrition, hospice
support and animal behavior, as well as introducing the concept of rehabilitation, massage, acupuncture
and acupuncture in animal health. The CAN Insurance Achievement in Innovation Award would make it
possible to accomplish this immediate goal.
More important, the CAN Insurance Award would be instrumental in reaching other donors who
also understand the need for a learning and wellness center for pets and their people. Your support at
this crucial stage will allow 4Paws to take the next steps toward expanding the human role in the care of
our animal companions. The human/animal bond represents a partnership, a circle of life and care. We
know that animals can help humans, and we also know that humans can enhance the health and the well
being of their animal companions. I hope you will consider 4Paws worthy of the Achievement in
Innovation Award.