NEWS / BLOG

Vegas PBS has a show called “Student Spotlight” where they feature a CCSD school and something very special happening at that school. We were honored to be asked to showcase our anti-bully program “Be Cool Not Cruel” and we chose our partner school John & Judy Goolsby ES for this filming. Maria Silva, the host and reporter, spent an hour with a kindergarten class meeting Sue and Charlie and Jori and Big Boy. Yes, a dog and a cat working together, getting along! The class was

We are so excited to introduce our very first therapy rats on the Las Vegas team! You all know Morgan who volunteers with her standard poodle Millie. But did you know Morgan also teaches barn hunt and has nineteen rats! Well Axely and Smoke are the chosen two to become therapy rats and they are just the sweetest creatures. Some people may be surprised to see therapy rats and are a bit afraid of them but once they meet and handle them, they are fans for life. These two definit

The Honors Class at UNLV invites me in to be a guest speaker for a class about the healing power of the pets, and how we integrate the therapy animals into a variety of situations. I share my story about how I got started volunteering, my prior career in the business world and what Pet Partners of Las Vegas is all about. This is one of the most enjoyable invitations all year. This time I brought Charlie and all the students fell in love with him instantly. What a great group

Bob and Dexter are the therapy team at Centennial Hills Library and look what the kids did for Halloween? The know Dexter is not permitted to wear a costume per Pet Partners policy, so they drew him in a variety of costumes! Don’t you love it?

Charlie went to one of our teen treatment centers this week. The last two visits I brought Buddy so the kids asked to see Charlie again. I warned them he may fall asleep and they said that would be ok. He did. And they re okay with it! They petted him while he took a brief nap and read his story. They are learning so much more than just about dog. They are learning empathy, patience and kindness. Thank you Charlie for being such a great teacher.

Cinnamon the mini therapy horse has become a favorite at Catholic Charities. The staff and clients look forward to her visits and always come out in big crowds to meet her. Even the CEO came out to meet her this time! Thank you to Karen and Gene for sharing this beautiful therapy animal with so many Las Vegas partnerships.

Last week we hosted the World’s Largest Walk at Nevada State University. We had so many of our Pet Partners of Las Vegas teams and volunteers and supporters join us. Here are a few more photos from our fabulous photographer Edina Dibusz.

Our second day with the CAP 2026 conference was such fun. People had heard about the therapy dogs and made a point of finding time to swing by.

Our annual World's Largest Walk was very sccessful this year. It was hosted for the third year at Nevada State University and they are the best hosts. We just received the professional photos from Edina Dibusz and from other volunteers. I don’t know where to start. They are all fabulous – they just capture the spirit of the event each time. These group photos are wonderful and you can see everyone had the best time at our Walk. We will share more photos soon.

We are invited to so many conventions and conferences so we are very particular which ones we accept. We also have to consider our schedule and we usually book these events a year ahead. This week we have the pleasure of working with CAP 2026, College of American Pathologists. The event is over two days at the Wynn and today was amazing. Thank you to Kelly and Mildred, Tali and Luci, Bob and Dexter, Gabby, Louie and Xoco, Nola and Jarvis, Liza and Baci, Charlie, Diane and Sha

Let’s welcome several new Pet Partners teams to our group: Zane and Harley, Danielle and Lacey and Cheryl with Bo. And Charlie also passed his renewal. He was a bit slower as an older dog but so loving and ready to work another year or two.

Congratulations to Karen and Louie. They passed their fourth Pet Partners renewal and are in their tenth year volunteering. This remarkable team volunteer at a school, rehab center and with very special children and are favorites of everyone they meet. We look forward to many more years as part of Pet Partners of Las Vegas.

Congratulations to Chris and Bo. Chris certainly takes after his predecessor Buster and carries on his legacy. Bo is still a youn do0g but so settled and calm. He just wants to be cuddled and petted. Thank you Chris for continuing to volunteer and make us all look good!

Congratulations to Nola and Jarvis. He is Nola’s third Pet Partners therapy dog and such a gentleman! He is a true regal Standard Poodle, and so enjoyed meeting everyone. Now Nola has the dilemma of having two great therapy dogs, Remy and Jarvis, and deciding who to take where!

We are back to our adopted school, Helen Marie Smith, and they are in their brand new building. Last year we were in a temporary space as they built a new school for them and it is just beautiful. So modern and the room we meet in is large and sunny and perfect. This year Charlie’s partner in crime is Big Boy, a therapy cat It is the first time we have a dog and cat working together as the class pets and it was the best idea. The children learn that cats and dogs can get alon

Sophie has started her training to become a Pet Partners therapy dog. She is so sweet and smart but a bit spicy! She can sit and look at me but when I say Down she flops over on her side for belly rubs! We have a ways to go!

To prepare for your Pet Partners evaluation, it’s a good idea to practice all sorts of role playing, such as crowds surrounding your pet. It is so important we know how calm and steady your pet is when people come up at all heights and all speeds and making noises and crowding your dog. Perhaps they are coming up from behind or running up to your pet. While we can manage it somewhat when people are excited to see your therapy pet, they are excited! This is Charlie arriving fo

Years ago I visited a facility with Coco, the OG. Since then there were many changes and we stopped partnering with them. However I was contacted again and we are happy to start all over again. I brought Charlie on the site visit and it went beautifully. There were only a handful of kids around but so many staff wanted to meet Charlie. He does an excellent job on new site visits! I will bring Buddy next time to see how they relate to him. For now the visits will be my dogs

School is back and we had another great visit at Goolsby Elementary. I brought Buddy to meet with four kindergarten classes. This was the children’s first year in this school and they were so excited to be the first to meet Buddy. He was so good. He saw twenty kids at a time and we had to make sure everyone got to pet him. Each class was a bit different so we used various ways to engage the kids and get them to share the time with Buddy. It went so well. My favorite shot of t