SORRY! REGISTRATION IS CLOSED FOR THIS SCHOOL YEAR!
Dear Teachers,
Welcome to Ottawa Therapy Dogs' Paw Pal Program! We hope that this will provide a fun way to encourage your students to practice the art of letter writing and give them another connection to some paws-itive support in the community that surrounds them!
(Nos chiens sont bilingues! Les écoles francophones sont bienvenues de participer à ce programme. Visitez notre site ci-dessous pour choisir un chien francophone qui serait ravi de communiquer avec vos élèves!
The program has become so popular that we are implementing a registration for this year! We will need to cap the registration at 15 classes for each half of the school year.
Paw Pal Term 1:
October 1, 2022 - January 31, 2023
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Paw Pal Term 2:
February 1, 2023 - May 31, 2023​
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Here's how it works!
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Students choose the dog to whom they wish to write. Click here to view photos and names of the dogs who are looking for a Paw-Pal. We have even indicated which dogs are bilingual! We will always keep this page updated so that your students will be sure to receive a response!
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Have your students write a letter to the dog or to the dog's handler/owner. To ensure privacy, please ensure the child uses only their first name on the letter.
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To ease the workload of our volunteers, please do not put the students' letters in individual envelopes. Simply place all the letters in one big envelope to mail them to us!
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Send the batch of class letters to: Ottawa Therapy Dogs, 99-1568 Merivale Rd., Ottawa, ON K2G 5Y7
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The letters will be distributed to the volunteer who owns the dog to which each letter is addressed.
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Our volunteers will respond to the letter. Depending on how the student writes the letter, the volunteer will respond as themselves or from their dog’s point of view!
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In order to volunteer with Ottawa Therapy Dogs, all of our volunteers must have a current Police Record Check for working with the Vulnerable Sector. Additionally, their letters will be screened by OTD staff before being returned to students. Once we have all the dogs' responses, we will mail all the letters back to the class!
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If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to reach out to us at: OTDPawPals@gmail.com or 613-261-6834.
The dogs will be checking their mailboxes every day!
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