Outdoor Connections
Furry Friends
Volunteers and their pets visit people of all ages at local health-care facilities.
"We're licking loneliness" is the motto held by the all-volunteer Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy Services, a registered non-profit organization serving Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties. Once a month, several of its numerous volunteers bring their pet dogs to visit the elderly nuns at the Convent of the Holy Names in the hills above the Los Gatos Library. The religious women's faces light up when they see the animals. As eager hands pet the well-behaved pooches on their heads and backs, the volunteers and some of the nuns engage in lively conversations, further brightening the residents' day. A variety of pet therapy organizations exist around the world because scientific research has shown that interactions with friendly…
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