The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) officially launched the pilot implementation of its new program, “Angel Pets,” on Saturday (November 16).
The initiative, in partnership with the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), focuses on animal-assisted therapy.
During the pilot event, a team of volunteer dogs from PAWS, known as “Dr. Dogs,” visited young girls at the Marillac Hills National Training School for Girls (NSTG) in Mandaluyong City.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian announced on his Facebook account that this event represents an innovative step to enhance the agency’s services for clients in its Centers and Residential Care Facilities (CRCF).
“This program will bring the Doctor Dogs (emotional support dogs) of PAWS into our residential care facilities as another mode of emotional therapy for our clients who are victim-survivors of abuse, exploitation, and neglect,” Secretary Rex Gatchalian posted over his official facebook page.
Angel Pets is a program designed to facilitate rehabilitation and reintegration of vulnerable groups by incorporating positive and enjoyable interactions with animals into therapeutic and supportive processes.
It will be undertaken at selected DSWD centers and residential care facilities.
The PAWS group, known for its Dr. Dogs, will play a crucial role in implementing Angel Pets.
This initiative has a proven track record of providing the therapeutic benefits of animal interactions to hospitals, disability centers, homes for the young and elderly, orphanages, and schools.
Helen Suzara, Director of the DSWD’s Social Technology Bureau (STB), who oversaw the pilot event, noted that the ‘meet and greet’ session between the pets and the residents of Marillac served as a warm-up activity and a preview for the program’s upcoming sessions.
“This is where we basically bring together our beneficiaries and partners so that they can get-to-know each other, and build connections through activities we co-arranged with PAWS,” Director Suzara said.
During the session, the PAWS team introduced each dog that visited the center, followed by interactive activities between the pets and the young girls from Marillac.
The young girls were then encouraged to share stories about their day with their new furry friends and to bond over storybooks and coloring books.
At the end of the session, the DSWD team conducted a post-test to gather feedback from the young girls.
The activity served as a monitoring and evaluation tool to assess the therapy’s progress.
Director Suzara thanked the PAWS team and the owners of the volunteer dogs for making the first session a delightful experience for the agency’s clients.
“Thank you to our doctor dogs, for our fur-moms, fur-daddies, salamat for taking time out to be with us, and nag-enjoy ang mga girls namin,” STB Director Suzara said.
During the PAWS’ anniversary celebration in October, a partnership was formed with Angel Pets to launch a pilot program for weekly animal-assisted therapy sessions.
The pilot program has already begun at Marillac Hills – NSTG, a center that provides residential care and rehabilitation for minor girls aged 7 to 17 who are survivors of sexual abuse or human trafficking or are children in conflict with the law.
The Dr. Dogs program will visit the Sanctuary Center in December.
The Sanctuary is a 24-hour residential care facility that serves as a refuge and home for adult women who have been abandoned, neglected, or are living with psycho-social disabilities, specifically those aged 18 and above.# (LSJ)
