"Strengthening the canine-human connection through education and compassionate Interactions"
Who We Are
Helping Idaho Dogs, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the human-canine bond through our programs in the Treasure Valley area of southwest Idaho. Our entirely volunteer-based team, including nationally certified therapy dog teams, offers education, support, and comfort, always accompanied by friendly smiles and wagging tails.
We invite you to explore our mission, policies, and team details by following the link below to learn more...
Our Programs
Humane Education
Helping Idaho Dogs provides age appropriate education on how to safely interact with dogs, be a responsible pet owner, and how to interpret a dog’s body language – building relationships of love, trust, and respect.
Therapy Dog Visits
Helping Idaho Dogs strives to connect our certified therapy dog teams to locations requesting one-time or recurring visits from therapy dogs to bring the mental and physical enrichment, joy, and comfort our therapy dog teams can bring. We provide mentoring, support and encouragement to our certified therapy dog teams to keep our teams current with the latest certification skills.
September Activities
September Visit Recap
Here's a recap of the types of visits our
therapy dogs completed this month:
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Community Events - 3
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Hospice/Memory Care - 27
& Senior Living
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Hospital Visits - 11
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Library Reading Pgm. - 3
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Other Community Svcs- 20
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School Visits - 6
Rest in peace Bernie
One of our longest serving therapy dogs crossed over the Rainbow Bridge this month.
Bernie and his handler Carol Jensen started visiting children at Eagle Library with the Tales to Tails Reading Program ~ Bernie was a natural! The children relaxed while petting Bernie’s soft fur and their confidence in reading improved. It was a win-win situation!
Over the following 10 years they logged over 675 Therapy Visits, making friends throughout the Treasure Valley. In addition to library programs, some additional visits were at assisted living facilities, Hospice Patients, High Schools, Boise State University, College of Idaho and weekly visits to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. Some of our favorite locations include many elementary schools with reading programs as well as focusing on grades 1 – 5 presenting Dog Safety Training through our Humane Education Program.
Bernie touched so many lives in his career! He had the softest fur and the happiest smile and loved belly rubs.
Highlighting Therapy Dogs in Training
Each year, we face the bittersweet moment of saying goodbye to some of our beloved therapy dogs as they retire from their duties due to age or illness. These wonderful dogs have brought immense joy and comfort to countless people, and their contributions will always be cherished.
This month we are excited to introduce you to the future stars of our therapy dog program. It takes 1-2 years of dedicated training to hone the behavior and skills necessary for a dog to become a certified therapy dog. Here’s a look at some of the promising pups currently in training:
Tag-Along - Named after a Girl Scout Cookie, this eager pup is just starting his training but is catching on quickly. Shannon tells us Tag-Along is always eager to visit and is showing great promise.
Gracie - Gracie is practicing her therapy skills with Clare. Despite Clare’s recent injury, Gracie is eagerly honing her abilities, with Clare’s other therapy dog, Dottie, keeping Gracie in line.
Duncan - A Golden Retriever who is learning the ropes from retired therapy dog Fen. Dawn tells us Duncan has passed his Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test and is practicing hard for pet therapy.
Atlee - She is a 4 month old Bernese Mountain Dog who is joining Bode (shown above) in Michelle's household. Both these pups will be following in big sister Becky's paw prints as therapy dogs once training is complete.
Bode - A nearly two-year-old Landseer Newfoundland. Michelle will soon certify with him as a therapy dog team.
Max - is a 12 week old English Mastiff. He was born into Mastiff Rescue in Oregon - his pregnant mom was surrendered to rescue. Bonnie tells me he is smart, confident, and much more independent and energetic than his big “brother” Bentley.
These dogs are in various stages of their training, working hard to develop the skills needed to provide therapeutic support and comfort to those in need. We look forward to the day when they join our ranks and continue the legacy of their predecessors.Stay tuned for more updates on their progress and join us in cheering them on as they embark on this journey to become certified therapy dogs!