NEWS / BLOG

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

If you happen to be around on Monday, August 17 between 10:00-11:00 am in Las Vegas turn on KLAS Channel 8. Charlie will be at Lazy Dog Town Square promoting their campaign for National Dog Day. There will be two segments: Segment One: An inside look at the Lazy Dog x Pet Partners partnership featuring a Pet Partners handler and therapy dog. Sue and Charlie will share more about Pet Partners and the work the organization does. Segment Two: A cooking demo of Lazy Dog’s dog b

We love visiting with the clients at the Opportunity Village Clubhouse. The staff and volunteers always enjoy meeting the therapy dogs, but often the clients are a bit nervous. Of course some come over right away and want to cuddle and pet. But some are wary of the dogs, especially the large ones. But Dexter and Maisy have a way of making everyone feel comfortable and they attracted crowds throughout the visit. Maisy even sat in laps which everyone thought was so silly for su

When we visit with the staff at the Veteran’s Administration (VA), so many people come to see us. As I was walking in with Charlie, a women came up to us and said she came early to see the pets because she doesn’t have a lot of time. Since the event hadn’t even started yet, she got Charlie all to herself for as few minutes. The look of joy and calmness on her face was so rewarding. Then the other therapy dogs arrived. Dexter is a favorite of the staff and they got to meet Bod

Several times a year we visit with the employees at Caesars and today was the best time. We are the guests of AVID (Awareness of Visible and Invisible Disabilities) and this team puts together the best event. Everyone is invited and hundreds of employees came by to meet the therapy dogs. A few they knew from other visits but they met Buddy for the first time. The AVID team coordinates the most enjoyable gathering. The room is perfect, the guests warm and inviting and our dogs

If you noticed Buddy has been doing a lot more work lately. He told me he is ready to take on some of Charlie’s assignments so Charlie can rest a bit more. Charlie will continue to attend those events and assignments that especially love and request this little dog. But Buddy has surpassed every expectation of what he can do. He is enjoying not only his usual visits with kids but the larger events as well. As long as he can get lots of belly rubs he’s in! This is how I trans

We partner with the Clark County District Libraries and my assigned library is Spring Valley. I bring one of my dogs and invite others to join us. But last night it was just Buddy. No one else was available so he put on his big dog persona and went himself. And it happened to be our largest attendance ever! This title dog was there for many more kids than usual and he just loved it. I brought one of Benny’s old puzzle games and they helped me teach Buddy how to find the treat

Several times a year we visit with the employees at Caesars and today was the best time. We are the guests of AVID (Awareness of Visible and Invisible Disabilities) and this team puts together the best event. Everyone is invited and hundreds of employees came by to meet the therapy dogs. A few they knew from other visits but they met Buddy for the first time. The AVID team coordinates the most enjoyable gathering. The room is perfect, the guests warm and inviting and our dogs

We had three successful renewal evaluations today. Let’s congratulate Shara and Grady, Tali and Luci and Kelly and Mildred on their commitment to Pet Partners and the power of the human-animal bond. You all contribute so much to our community and we are thrilled you wish to continue volunteering with Pet Partners of Las Vegas.

We spent time with the staff at the Federal Courthouse and it was a superb visit. Many of the guests knew us from previous events but so many new people came by/. They had heard about us and took a moment in their very busy day to swing by. We brought Barbara and Albert, Bob and Dexter, Rosie and Birdie, Gretch and Whoopi, Clarke and Tallulah and Charlie came along too. We had to go through tight security and of course the pin the library made for Charlie buzzed it off! Oh

There are no greater visits than with students and the UNLV School of Dental Medicine is the best gathering. We had Whoopi today who they know and love. And they met Buddy and Maisy for the first time. It was super hot and even though we park very close to the entrance, it was difficult for Buddy. Whoopi and Maisy wear their shoes but Buddy won’t keep them on so I have to carry him. I( think he does this so I will carry him! Thank you for such a fun day and we look forward to

When we visit Southern Hills Hospital for our group events we are in the main hospital. But every week I also go on personal visits in the Pavilion Behavioral Health Hospital and wanted to introduce some the dogs there. The staff in the Pavilion don’t get the opportunity to come over when we are in the main building. So today three therapy dogs made their way through the Pavilion and it was great. Maisy, Xoco and Charlie visited all the units and everyone was so excited to se