PAWS Wellness Support Program:
Dog-Assisted Support to Improve Youth Mental Wellness.
Promoting Joy, Comfort & Connection Through the Power of the Human-Dog Bond.
Our PAWS Wellness Support Program gives middle and high school students the ability to interact with animals in the classroom or during extracurricular activities. Our wellness support dogs welcome interaction, and these interactions can reduce stress, bring joy, improve social skills, and motivate students to learn.
Our PAWS handler and dog teams work in a variety of settings, such as small group discussions with school counselors, classrooms, outdoor recreation, and stress reduction during finals week.
We don’t just bring dogs into classrooms because they’re cute. Research shows that just the presence of an animal can spark joy and other positive emotions. Dogs can provide a supportive, non-judgmental space, partly because they don’t have any expectations of us. Research on the integration of dogs in schools shows improvements to psychosocial wellbeing, improved communication, and shorter de-escalation time (Wintermantel et al., 2024; Zents et al., 2017).
“The human-animal connection enhances communication and engagement, as seen when teens interacted with my dog, which facilitated their discussions about issues and fostered a more open dialogue.”
- Nora, PAWS Team Volunteer
What Our PAWS Wellness Teams Have Accomplished
1,484+
Students Served
(2021-2024)
702+
Staff Served
(2021-2024)
11,593+
Student-Dog Interactions
(2021-2024)
10+
School Partnerships
ABOUT THE
PAWS Wellness Support Program
Our PAWS Wellness Support Program Looks Like This:
The PAWS Wellness Support Program is a research-informed program that brings trained handler-dog teams into schools and youth organizations to foster mental wellness.
What You Need to Know:
Our program is based on the science of the human-animal connection.
Our handlers are trained using a curriculum developed by Purdue University’s Dr. Leanne Nieforth to support non-clinical wellness conversations.
There are multiple formats available: large group, small group, weekly recess, and staff wellness.
Our program includes a new Educator Curriculum that helps schools align dog visits with their Social Emotional Learning (SEL) goals.
Our PAWS visits are offered at no cost to our school partners—because we believe every young person deserves access to this experience. To help keep the program strong and sustainable, we welcome collaboration with our partners to explore grant opportunities, PTO funding, or other sources of community support that could help offset program costs.
For corporate visits or one-time special events, we welcome a donation to help offset our costs and support the program.
Are Your Dogs Therapy Dogs?
Yes and no.
At Kindling Minds, we refer to our registered dogs as wellness support dogs rather than using the term “therapy dogs”.
While these dogs are often called therapy dogs in other programs, we chose the term wellness support dog to more accurately reflect the nature of our work. Our dogs provide emotional support, comfort, and connection, but our visits are not clinical, and our volunteer handlers are not licensed mental health professionals.
We like to say that our PAWS Teams are therapeutic, but not therapy. The impact they have is real and powerful, offering calm, confidence, and joy to the youth we serve as part of a broader approach to building mental wellness.
Igniting Change Looks Like This
This program builds connection, reduces stress, promotes social development, and strengthens the school community.
Find Out More About Our Other Mental Wellness Programs
“The school is going through a credentialing process, and recently there was a visiting team on site. A representative from this credentialing team asked one of the students, "What makes your school special?" The student's answer was, "We get to have wellness support dogs that come to recess on Wednesdays!" The student went on to talk about how sweet the dogs are and how much they love having them. This demonstrates the positive impact that the wellness support dog program is having on students.”
- Angela, Middle School Director
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Wellness support dogs (aka “therapy dogs”) are friendly, affectionate pets trained to provide comfort, joy, and emotional support to others. They live with their handler and are trained to interact with many different people in settings like schools and community programs. Wellness support dogs must pass an evaluation and be registered with an organization like Kindling Minds. Wellness support dogs do not have special access to public spaces like airplanes or restaurants.
Emotional support dogs provide comfort to a single individual and are prescribed by a licensed mental health professional. They do not require specialized training or evaluation. Emotional support dogs are allowed to live with their owner in housing with a “no pets” policy, but they do not have special access to public spaces.
Service dogs, also known as assistance dogs, are highly trained to perform specific tasks that help an individual with a disability. They are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and are the only type of support animal that has full access to public spaces. Because they are working to assist their handler, it’s important not to distract or attempt to pet them while they are in public.
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PAWS Handler Requirements:
Be 16+ years old (anyone under 18 years old needs permission from a parent or guardian).
Pass a criminal background check (for 18+ volunteers).
Be willing and able to positively engage with youth, educators, and the community.
Be able to guide interactions with students calmly, compassionately, and professionally.
Be able to read your dog’s body language, advocate for them, and facilitate positive interactions.
Commit to all program policies and guidelines.
Participate in continuous training provided by Kindling Minds.
PAWS Dog Requirements:
Be at least 1 year old.
Have lived with the handler for at least 6 months.
Be friendly and approachable.
Not have a history of aggression or causing serious injury to dogs or people.
Demonstrate basic obedience: walks with a loose leash, reliably responds to commands such as “sit,” “stay,” “come,” and “leave it.”
Be reliably house-trained.
Be up-to-date on all vaccines.
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Our PAWS Teams primarily support students in 4th–12th grades through partnerships with schools and youth-serving organizations.
In addition to working directly with youth, we also provide support to the adults in their lives—teachers, counselors, administrators, youth workers, parents, and caregivers—who play a vital role in student well-being.