Community Service : Animal-Assisted Therapy We at BonaFide Dog Academy recognize our personal and corporate responsibility to the community to aid other efforts to protect and preserve the bond between people and animals. We own Delta Society-registered therapy animals and volunteer in a number of community programs in the Omaha Metro area. We also help others become registered to volunteer with their pets. For more information on upcoming therapy team training workshops and classes, please call Cam at 402-250-9452. Delta Society training programs are offered three to four times per year. The following are locations are just a few of the places Delta Society therapy teams visit. Delta teams can also be found working at other metro area schools, in area hospitals, and routinely make appearances at health fairs and pet expos. MAY 2010 UPDATE: Delta Society has just released a new policy for all Pet Partners teams, effective 30 June 2010, which regulates the types of food and treat items that can be fed to Pet Partners. This regulation conflicts with the feeding regimes followed by many well-informed, responsible pet owners, including Delta Pet Partner handlers across the country. We at BonaFide believe strongly in the right of every pet owner to decide what is best to feed his/her pet and to seek and follow the professional advice of his/her veterinarian regarding any questions about diets. Regretfully, as a result of Delta’s new policy, BonaFide will no longer offer Delta Pet Partners handler training workshops for new teams or evaluations for new Delta Society Pet Partner teams. We will continue to support our current Pet Partner teams who choose to remain registered with Delta until their current registration expires. We are also exploring other therapy organizations so that we may continue to serve the community with our therapy teams. The Hope Center Travel just north of our ever-expanding metropolitan Omaha and you will find a community where children fear the streets. Poverty, gang activity and drug dealings plague our inner-city. Seemingly forgotten and uncared for, many of our inner-city youth and children live in a life condition of "hopelessness." Broken families, broken windows and broken promises are but a few of the generational cycles experienced by most of our inner-city's youngest. For several years the Hope Center for Kids has been fulfilling its mission by changing the tide of "hopelessness." Hope must be tangible, it must have skin on. Therefore, our programs are created to meet the most basic human needs. From being a safe place after school, to offering a daily hot meal through our Kids Cafe Program, the Hope Center for Kids is here. Educational support, mentoring, social skills training, Bible studies, job creation and economic development are all a part of the endless opportunities Hope offers. BonaFide therapy teams visit the Hope Center weekly to participate one-on-one with kids in the READ (Reading Education Assistance Dogs) program. READ visits allow children to have a safe and fun interactive time with the dogs while improving their reading skills, self-confidence and so much more! For more information about the Hope Center for Kids, visit www.hopecenterforkids.org . For more information about the BonaFide READers, contact Cam at cam@bonafidedogacademy.com or 402.250.9452. Phoenix Academy of Learning The Phoenix Academy is an independent, nonprofit, private school for all children, including those who experience difficulty learning to read, write and spell our English language. Many of the students were previously thought to have a learning disability. The goal of Phoenix Academy of Learning is to teach students to read, write and spell the English language and then return them to a regular classroom in the public school system. Our therapy teams volunteer their time at the Phoenix Academy through the READ (Reading Education Assistance Dogs) program. For more information about the Phoenix Academy, click here . OPS Title I Bright Minds Program Every summer, a BonaFide therapy team visits summer school sessions and various children's clubs to give talks about dog safety, as well as to promote reading. The Bookworm Omaha's signature dog-friendly bookstore, The Bookworm, is a metro-area favorite! Teams visit on an as-needed basis, providing positive dog interactions with the community, promoting responsible dog-ownership and training, and fostering the joy of reading among the youth with our READ animals. To learn more about The Bookworm, click here . Community Service : Special Training Opportunities In the fall of 2009, BonaFide is launching a special training program with the Nebraska Youth Correctional Facility (NYCF). "PAWSitive Outcomes" is a joint project between BonaFide Dog Academy, Big Dogs Huge Paws Rescue, and NYCF. The program provides opportunities for inmates to care for and train dogs that can be adopted out to their forever homes. Teams work towards the goal of the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) award with each dog, a measure of good basic obedience around other dogs and people. Dogs are provided by Big Dogs Huge Paws Rescue (BDHPI), a Colorado-based rescue group that specifies in giant-breed dogs. For more info on BDHPI, click here .

[BonaFide House Rules] [ Please Add Me to the BonaFide Mailing List ]     [Home] [Classes] [Private Training] [Comments] [Events] [Brags] [Privacy/Refund/Security Policies] [Memberships] [Calendar] [About Us] [Community Services] [Links] [Contact Us] ©2006 - 2010. Bonafide Dog Academy LLC. All rights reserved.