THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) have teamed up for the pilot implementation of a new program, “Angel Pets.”
DSWD Secretary Rexlon Gatchalian said the program would focus on animal-assisted therapy.
For the pilot event, a team of emotional support dogs from PAWS, known as Dr. Dogs, visited young girls at the Marillac Hills National Training School for Girls (NSTG) in Mandaluyong City.
Gatchalian said Angel Pets is an innovative step to enhance the agency’s services for clients in its Centers and Residential Care Facilities.
“This program will bring the Dr. Dogs PAWS into our residential care facilities as another mode of emotional therapy for our clients who are survivors of abuse, exploitation and neglect,” said Gatchalian on his Facebook page.
The program is designed to facilitate rehabilitation and reintegration of vulnerable groups by incorporating positive and enjoyable interactions with animals into therapeutic and supportive processes, the DSWD said.
The program has been proven to provide the therapeutic benefits of animal interactions to hospitals, disability centers, homes for the young and elderly, orphanages, and schools.
Helen Suzara, DSWD’s Social Technology Bureau director, who oversaw the pilot event, said the “meet and greet” session between the pets and the residents of Marillac was a preview of 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,” Suzara said.
The PAWS team introduced each dog that visited the center, followed by interactive activities between the pets and the girls from Marillac.
The girls were 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 girls.
The activity served as a monitoring and evaluation tool to assess the therapy’s progress.
The Dr. Dogs program will visit the Sanctuary Center in December.
The center is a 24-hour residential care facility for women aged 18 and above who have been abandoned, neglected, or are living with psychosocial disabilities.
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