example: PAWS Your Stress Therapy Dog Program
The PAWS Your Stress Therapy Dog program began in 2015, and it undertook research to evaluate whether it was meeting its goals for in-person visiting on campus and the new knowledge has been translated into both the programming that is offered on campus as well as information products (such as an infographic developed in partnership with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction & the Mental Health Commission of Canada, titled Stress & Substance Use During COVID-19: How Animals Can Help). With the transition of the therapy dog program online, and the associated evaluation, it is time for our team to revisit our Program Logic Model too (see below)!
This work has also helped to inform the work of the therapy dogs in other environments, such as Emergency Departments and vaccination clinics.
"It has been an honour for me to work with the PAWS Your Stress therapy dog program to ensure it is looking inward at its goals and evaluating them so that it can offer the best service possible to the campus community".
-Dr. Linzi Williamson, PhD, CE