May 26, 2025 • 16 mins
A Fair Shake for Youth is the city’s longest-running therapy dog program in public schools in Brooklyn, The Bronx and Manhattan. For their 15th anniversary, founder Audrey Hendler talks about how the idea took root with a prison rehabilitation program, and how NYC dog owners can volunteer for kids alongside their own pets. For more, visit afairshakeforyouth.org.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Get Connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly
conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on
one oh six point seven light FM.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Thanks for listening to get connected, and if you listen regularly,
you know on this show we often have conversations with
nonprofits about opportunities for volunteering. And a volunteering is something
you've been thinking about for a while, and you happen
to have a dog that loves company and kids imagine
participating together. This might be the one you're looking for.
A fair Shake for Youth is the city's longest running
(00:34):
therapy dog program in public schools in Brooklyn, the Bronx,
and Manhattan. For their fifteenth anniversary, they're asking New York
City dog owners to give back alongside their own pets.
And our guest is Audrey Hendler, founder of a Fair
Shake for Youth. Audrey, thank you for being on the show.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm delighted to
be here.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
You can find out more about the organization at a
fair shakefo Youth dot org. We have a lot to
talk about, but just the basics. I thought we'd start there. Audrey,
what does a fair Shake for Youth, do.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Fair Shake for Youth helps kids who live in underserved
communities build greater social and emotional skills like empathy, self esteem, resilience,
things like that.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
So congratulations on fifteen years.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Thank you. It's hard to believe.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Yeah, I know you transitioned from a full time sort
of corporate job into this, but can you talk about
the light bulb that made you want to make that
switch fifteen years ago?
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Absolutely, the light bulb is one of my favorite things
to talk about. I was working in the carpet world
at a career in marketing, and I was doing consulting,
and at the same time, I was a volunteer for
Puppies behind bars, where individuals in prison were raising puppies
that were going to be guide dogs or service dogs,
(01:54):
and they needed people to take the puppies out on
the weekend so that they would know what a fire
truck was in a place ground and a Dwayne read.
Otherwise they'd be really well loved and really well behaved,
but not able to perform their job. So we took
puppies out almost every weekend and it was great labrador puppies,
And because I was working for myself, they ultimately asked
(02:16):
if I wanted to come and teach and help in prison,
and I ended up teaching at two facilities, Bedford Hills
which is maximum security women and fish Hill, which is
medium security men. And I saw the impact the dogs
had on the people in terms of all these same
(02:37):
social emotional skills. So nobody was really calling them that
at that point, but somebody or something was more important
than their own needs. They worked together, they were trusted,
and on and on and on, and the light bulb
moment really came about at Bedford Hills when a woman
(02:59):
who who when she came in the program didn't seem
to have a lot of self confidence. She was probably
in her mid thirties, and she went through the training
and then she had her own puppy, and then one
morning I came in to review I think it was
a quiz from the week before, and she started arguing
with me for literally one point one question one and
(03:22):
I was like, wow, really, I'm like one point and
then I was like, oh my gosh, one point. This
woman was willing to stand up for what she thought
was the correct answer for one point and do it
to me. Who was you know, the teacher and to
do it in front of a groom full of other women.
(03:43):
And I don't remember whether I gave her the point
from not, but I hope I did in retrospect. But
I ultimately had this thought of what if someone had
given her a dog when she was fifteen instead of
thirty five, maybe she would have had the confidence to
make different decisions and thought about herself differently. And so
(04:07):
my thought was, why are we waiting until someone has
grown up and in prison to bring the power that
dogs have to help people develop that sense of self.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So in the classroom, what's going on in the classroom
with the kids.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
We start out with the kids learning to give commands,
do some tricks. We have puzzles where the dogs find food.
We have a jump and a tunnel from basic agility
and all that is about positive reinforcement teaching what if
you do if someone's afraid? How do you make it easier?
(04:45):
So it's all those sorts of skills, So there's always
an active portion, and then there's always a lesson, you know,
more straightforward discussion lests when we talk about body language,
we talk about shelters and rescue and second chances, reed,
discrimination and all those things. Really relate back to the kids,
(05:08):
but unfortunately for a lot of them, their own experience.
But because we work with middle school kids, they're young enough,
but they're old enough they can make those connections without
some sort of heavy handed, you know, intervention.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Our guest is Audrey Hindler. She's founder of a Fair
Shake for Youth, the city's longest running therapy dog program
in public schools in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Manhattan. Their
mission is to help middle schoolers in underserved communities build confidence, empathy,
and resilience, one therapy dog at a time, and they're
looking for more volunteers. We'll get back to that in
just a second. The website is a fair Shake for
(05:44):
Youth dot org. You're listening to get connected on ONEZO
six point seven light FM, Anina del Rio. You actually
have done research on this, so you have research. What
does the research say about the impact these therapy dogs
have on students.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Therapy dogs not only on students but on everyone. Low
cortisol level the stress hormone, and it increases oxytocin, which
is the bonding feel good hormone. But research has shown
that for kids working with therapy dogs, they develop these skills,
the self confidence, the empathy, the teamwork. And it's also
(06:22):
shown that working with the therapy dogs, because of the
impact on their emotional state, makes it easier and primes
them if you will, to learn ademically as well. If
you've got a kid that's you know, really down in
morose and thinks nothing of himself, he's not he or
(06:42):
she is not really going to push themselves to do
well in math if they don't understand a problem, but
the dogs help them see that they can, they can
be listened to, they can succeed. They're like communicating and
instructing a different species. And this and the species i e.
The dog loves them and thinks well of them, so
(07:05):
that translates into the classroom as.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Well over time. I wonder how the program has developed
and how you sort of centered around Title one schools.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Well, everybody can benefit from social emotional learning, I think
it's safe to say, but it's it's clearly the kids
who grow up in these underserved communities that have the
greatest challenges food in security, housing and security, health challenges,
single parent households, violence in the neighborhood. They had COVID,
(07:39):
you know, they got the they were much more impacted
than wealthier communities. So our goal really was to help
kids who might not have the same opportunities as their
wealthier counterparts. So that's how we landed on Title one.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
And let's talk about the volunteer programs. So you need
more volunteers. You would like more volunteers. These are the
average person with their dog. It's not suitable for every dog.
Let's face it. Some of them would rather be at home.
Let's talk about working with your dog, and who's that.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Okay, So I'm just gonna be honest. It's hard to
be a therapy dog. Therapy dogs are the minority for sure.
Therapy dogs have to be confident and a dog that
means they're good in new situations. Like they walk into
a school and they say, well, I've never been here,
but I'm good. Right, they walk into, you know, a
(08:34):
new store with their owner in the neighborhood, They're like,
I'm good. I wonder if they're treats here. Right, they're good.
The bell rings, they it's not that they don't hear.
They say, huh, that was noisy, but they don't say
I'm going home and I'm never coming to this school again.
So they're resilient, they're good in new situations, and they're
(08:55):
highly highly social and highly social with people they've ever met.
So some people say, my dog loves it when people
come over. Well that's different. That's their own territory. So
they have to be highly social and goal like, I
haven't met this person, I'm really interested. So and they
have to help know some basic matters right and look
(09:16):
like they're under control, and they have to be able
to be handled. That's a tall order for most dogs.
But you know, I'm not even gonna tell you her record,
but my dog who's fourteen, who I've more or less
started this program with, is a big squirrel chaser. So
they are dogs, you know, And they don't have to
be a dog that only wants to sit on the couch.
(09:38):
But they have all these attributes as well.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
And what do volunteers take away from the experience.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Volunteers really really like this really. First of all, getting
to volunteer with your dog. So many dog people right
want to go everywhere with their dogs. So here you
get to volunteer with your dog who means so much
to you, and you get so much from your dog.
Now your dog is helping other people, which, right out
of the box, does it feel good. All therapy dog
(10:04):
work is great, but one of the things that our
therapy dog program enables is that the volunteers going to
the same school with the same group of kids week
after week, so they actually watch the kids evolve. There
will be kids at the beginning who are really quiet
and don't speak up. But if you don't speak up,
(10:25):
the dog isn't going to hear you and isn't gonna
sit when you ask it to sit, or whatever else
we're doing. So the volunteers get to watch as the
kids evolve and find themselves, So that is really rewarding.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
You've been doing this a long time, Yeah, So can
you think of a story that's particularly memorable that gets
to what you're talking about?
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Well, my most poignant story, and I have many, is
the child who, at the end of a ten week
program went up to one of our volunteers who has
a rescue dog. And when we have a rescue dog,
we tell the story of the dog. And this child
waited until the very last minute, the very last day,
and he went up to the volunteer and he said, well,
(11:10):
I know, Sam came from a shelter, and she turned out, okay, Well,
I live in a shelter. Do you think I'll be okay?
And her response was you're already more than okay. So
there's that kind of thing there is. You know, at
the end of the program, the kids decorate a picture
frame with stickers and stamps of a picture of them
(11:31):
and the dog, and for the first time in like
fifteen years two with the kids asked the volunteer to
keep the picture frame with their picture to be remembered.
So like, there's this connection, and there's this meaning for
the kids to have connection not only with the dog
(11:51):
but with the person. You know, when I the very
first program I did was with the Dome, which was
an alternative to tension program on the Upper West Side.
And I think, even though this is a long time ago,
it really speaks to me because I was early on
in teaching and I didn't you know, I had what
(12:12):
I was going to teach that day on a piece
of paper and I came in and we were teaching
sit right. And when you're a dog trainer, you're supposed
to say sit one time and wait for the dog right.
But you hear so many people go SIT's it's it's.
It's it right. So, uh, you know, I gave instructions
and they were practicing, and there was this one girl,
she was probably about fourteen, and I hear her going sits,
(12:35):
it's it, and I'm thinking, oh no, oh no. And
then a year ago, oh my god, oh my god,
and I'm thinking, bring brand new that that you know,
the dog bitter or something right, and she's like, oh
my god, he's sad. He's sad. Oh my god, he's set.
And I thought, that's what this is about. It doesn't
matter what was on my piece of paper to teach.
She couldn't believe that another living being listened to her,
(12:58):
that she had agency over somebody else. And that's the
kind of thing that we see all the time.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Anything else you would like anyone to know about volunteering.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
We provide transportation or we reimburse for transportation, because when
you have a therapy dog, generally people volunteer somewhere where
it's convenient, where they can walk. But when I started
the program fifteen years ago, I knew that for us
to serve the kids that I really thought needed it
the most, we were going to have to get volunteers
to school. So we have a relationship with a pet
(13:35):
taxi we've had almost the entire fifteen years. We reimburse
we pick up so that it's not a problem for
people to get where they go. And the other thing
is they get to volunteer with other people. Normally, when
you volunteer as a therapy dog team, you go to
a hospital, you visit a number of rooms, et cetera.
And let's be clear, if I'm ever in the hospital,
(13:57):
I want a therapy dog to visit me. But in
our program, often you ride with other volunteers. We have
one group in Brooklyn that has named themselves the Dream
Team and they're on a group text and like they
always take everything as a challenge and they're like, the
dream Team is up for it, you know. So if
there's a lot of camaraderie and they can talk about
(14:21):
their experience with the kids and how it's evolved and
how it's impacted them in a way that in most
therapy dog programs you don't get a chance to do.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
And just one more question, So you're in the Bronx
Brooklyn and Manhattan, how would more volunteers help you expand
and what areas would you like to expand into.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Well, there's certainly, as I said, no shortage of need.
We have had a program in Queens, we just don't
really have any teams there. We're talking about doing an
info session out in Long Island City, which would be great.
I think a lot of people just don't know where
to get started. They think, yeah, I would kind of
like to do this work. You know, I don't know
if my dog would be good at this or not.
(15:02):
Or they think their dog has to be like perfect,
and they totally don't have to be perfect. They're dogs,
you know, so they have to be under control.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
You know.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
I shouldn't even say this, but we had a dog
for years who was in the program. I mean, you
can't have a barking dog, right, But if we were
sitting too long talking she would start doing like a
hound howl and we used to joked it was like, Okay,
clearly we've been talking enough. It's time to get up
and work. So they're dogs, which is part of the beauty.
(15:33):
They live in the moment. They don't judge, they don't
care like what sneakers you're wearing. If you love them,
they'll love you back and that's why they're so great
at this.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
I am sure that you can get all the information
you need about volunteering with your dog and if your
dog is the right match for a Fair Shake for
Youth with Audrey Hendler. She is the founder. You can
find out more on the website A Fair Shake for Youth, Audrey,
Thank you for being to get connected.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
My pleasure. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
This has been get connected with Nina del Rio on
one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and
opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views
of the station. If you missed any part of our
show or want to share it, visit our website for
downloads and podcasts at one o six to seven lightfm
dot com. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Get Connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly
conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on
one oh six point seven light FM.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Thanks for listening to get connected, and if you listen regularly,
you know on this show we often have conversations with
nonprofits about opportunities for volunteering. And a volunteering is something
you've been thinking about for a while, and you happen
to have a dog that loves company and kids imagine
participating together. This might be the one you're looking for.
A fair Shake for Youth is the city's longest running
(00:34):
therapy dog program in public schools in Brooklyn, the Bronx,
and Manhattan. For their fifteenth anniversary, they're asking New York
City dog owners to give back alongside their own pets.
And our guest is Audrey Hendler, founder of a Fair
Shake for Youth. Audrey, thank you for being on the show.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm delighted to
be here.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
You can find out more about the organization at a
fair shakefo Youth dot org. We have a lot to
talk about, but just the basics. I thought we'd start there. Audrey,
what does a fair Shake for Youth, do.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Fair Shake for Youth helps kids who live in underserved
communities build greater social and emotional skills like empathy, self esteem, resilience,
things like that.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
So congratulations on fifteen years.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Thank you. It's hard to believe.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Yeah, I know you transitioned from a full time sort
of corporate job into this, but can you talk about
the light bulb that made you want to make that
switch fifteen years ago?
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Absolutely, the light bulb is one of my favorite things
to talk about. I was working in the carpet world
at a career in marketing, and I was doing consulting,
and at the same time, I was a volunteer for
Puppies behind bars, where individuals in prison were raising puppies
that were going to be guide dogs or service dogs,
(01:54):
and they needed people to take the puppies out on
the weekend so that they would know what a fire
truck was in a place ground and a Dwayne read.
Otherwise they'd be really well loved and really well behaved,
but not able to perform their job. So we took
puppies out almost every weekend and it was great labrador puppies,
And because I was working for myself, they ultimately asked
(02:16):
if I wanted to come and teach and help in prison,
and I ended up teaching at two facilities, Bedford Hills
which is maximum security women and fish Hill, which is
medium security men. And I saw the impact the dogs
had on the people in terms of all these same
(02:37):
social emotional skills. So nobody was really calling them that
at that point, but somebody or something was more important
than their own needs. They worked together, they were trusted,
and on and on and on, and the light bulb
moment really came about at Bedford Hills when a woman
(02:59):
who who when she came in the program didn't seem
to have a lot of self confidence. She was probably
in her mid thirties, and she went through the training
and then she had her own puppy, and then one
morning I came in to review I think it was
a quiz from the week before, and she started arguing
with me for literally one point one question one and
(03:22):
I was like, wow, really, I'm like one point and
then I was like, oh my gosh, one point. This
woman was willing to stand up for what she thought
was the correct answer for one point and do it
to me. Who was you know, the teacher and to
do it in front of a groom full of other women.
(03:43):
And I don't remember whether I gave her the point
from not, but I hope I did in retrospect. But
I ultimately had this thought of what if someone had
given her a dog when she was fifteen instead of
thirty five, maybe she would have had the confidence to
make different decisions and thought about herself differently. And so
(04:07):
my thought was, why are we waiting until someone has
grown up and in prison to bring the power that
dogs have to help people develop that sense of self.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So in the classroom, what's going on in the classroom
with the kids.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
We start out with the kids learning to give commands,
do some tricks. We have puzzles where the dogs find food.
We have a jump and a tunnel from basic agility
and all that is about positive reinforcement teaching what if
you do if someone's afraid? How do you make it easier?
(04:45):
So it's all those sorts of skills, So there's always
an active portion, and then there's always a lesson, you know,
more straightforward discussion lests when we talk about body language,
we talk about shelters and rescue and second chances, reed,
discrimination and all those things. Really relate back to the kids,
(05:08):
but unfortunately for a lot of them, their own experience.
But because we work with middle school kids, they're young enough,
but they're old enough they can make those connections without
some sort of heavy handed, you know, intervention.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Our guest is Audrey Hindler. She's founder of a Fair
Shake for Youth, the city's longest running therapy dog program
in public schools in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Manhattan. Their
mission is to help middle schoolers in underserved communities build confidence, empathy,
and resilience, one therapy dog at a time, and they're
looking for more volunteers. We'll get back to that in
just a second. The website is a fair Shake for
(05:44):
Youth dot org. You're listening to get connected on ONEZO
six point seven light FM, Anina del Rio. You actually
have done research on this, so you have research. What
does the research say about the impact these therapy dogs
have on students.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Therapy dogs not only on students but on everyone. Low
cortisol level the stress hormone, and it increases oxytocin, which
is the bonding feel good hormone. But research has shown
that for kids working with therapy dogs, they develop these skills,
the self confidence, the empathy, the teamwork. And it's also
(06:22):
shown that working with the therapy dogs, because of the
impact on their emotional state, makes it easier and primes
them if you will, to learn ademically as well. If
you've got a kid that's you know, really down in
morose and thinks nothing of himself, he's not he or
(06:42):
she is not really going to push themselves to do
well in math if they don't understand a problem, but
the dogs help them see that they can, they can
be listened to, they can succeed. They're like communicating and
instructing a different species. And this and the species i e.
The dog loves them and thinks well of them, so
(07:05):
that translates into the classroom as.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Well over time. I wonder how the program has developed
and how you sort of centered around Title one schools.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Well, everybody can benefit from social emotional learning, I think
it's safe to say, but it's it's clearly the kids
who grow up in these underserved communities that have the
greatest challenges food in security, housing and security, health challenges,
single parent households, violence in the neighborhood. They had COVID,
(07:39):
you know, they got the they were much more impacted
than wealthier communities. So our goal really was to help
kids who might not have the same opportunities as their
wealthier counterparts. So that's how we landed on Title one.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
And let's talk about the volunteer programs. So you need
more volunteers. You would like more volunteers. These are the
average person with their dog. It's not suitable for every dog.
Let's face it. Some of them would rather be at home.
Let's talk about working with your dog, and who's that.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Okay, So I'm just gonna be honest. It's hard to
be a therapy dog. Therapy dogs are the minority for sure.
Therapy dogs have to be confident and a dog that
means they're good in new situations. Like they walk into
a school and they say, well, I've never been here,
but I'm good. Right, they walk into, you know, a
(08:34):
new store with their owner in the neighborhood, They're like,
I'm good. I wonder if they're treats here. Right, they're good.
The bell rings, they it's not that they don't hear.
They say, huh, that was noisy, but they don't say
I'm going home and I'm never coming to this school again.
So they're resilient, they're good in new situations, and they're
(08:55):
highly highly social and highly social with people they've ever met.
So some people say, my dog loves it when people
come over. Well that's different. That's their own territory. So
they have to be highly social and goal like, I
haven't met this person, I'm really interested. So and they
have to help know some basic matters right and look
(09:16):
like they're under control, and they have to be able
to be handled. That's a tall order for most dogs.
But you know, I'm not even gonna tell you her record,
but my dog who's fourteen, who I've more or less
started this program with, is a big squirrel chaser. So
they are dogs, you know, And they don't have to
be a dog that only wants to sit on the couch.
(09:38):
But they have all these attributes as well.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
And what do volunteers take away from the experience.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Volunteers really really like this really. First of all, getting
to volunteer with your dog. So many dog people right
want to go everywhere with their dogs. So here you
get to volunteer with your dog who means so much
to you, and you get so much from your dog.
Now your dog is helping other people, which, right out
of the box, does it feel good. All therapy dog
(10:04):
work is great, but one of the things that our
therapy dog program enables is that the volunteers going to
the same school with the same group of kids week
after week, so they actually watch the kids evolve. There
will be kids at the beginning who are really quiet
and don't speak up. But if you don't speak up,
(10:25):
the dog isn't going to hear you and isn't gonna
sit when you ask it to sit, or whatever else
we're doing. So the volunteers get to watch as the
kids evolve and find themselves, So that is really rewarding.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
You've been doing this a long time, Yeah, So can
you think of a story that's particularly memorable that gets
to what you're talking about?
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Well, my most poignant story, and I have many, is
the child who, at the end of a ten week
program went up to one of our volunteers who has
a rescue dog. And when we have a rescue dog,
we tell the story of the dog. And this child
waited until the very last minute, the very last day,
and he went up to the volunteer and he said, well,
(11:10):
I know, Sam came from a shelter, and she turned out, okay, Well,
I live in a shelter. Do you think I'll be okay?
And her response was you're already more than okay. So
there's that kind of thing there is. You know, at
the end of the program, the kids decorate a picture
frame with stickers and stamps of a picture of them
(11:31):
and the dog, and for the first time in like
fifteen years two with the kids asked the volunteer to
keep the picture frame with their picture to be remembered.
So like, there's this connection, and there's this meaning for
the kids to have connection not only with the dog
(11:51):
but with the person. You know, when I the very
first program I did was with the Dome, which was
an alternative to tension program on the Upper West Side.
And I think, even though this is a long time ago,
it really speaks to me because I was early on
in teaching and I didn't you know, I had what
(12:12):
I was going to teach that day on a piece
of paper and I came in and we were teaching
sit right. And when you're a dog trainer, you're supposed
to say sit one time and wait for the dog right.
But you hear so many people go SIT's it's it's.
It's it right. So, uh, you know, I gave instructions
and they were practicing, and there was this one girl,
she was probably about fourteen, and I hear her going sits,
(12:35):
it's it, and I'm thinking, oh no, oh no. And
then a year ago, oh my god, oh my god,
and I'm thinking, bring brand new that that you know,
the dog bitter or something right, and she's like, oh
my god, he's sad. He's sad. Oh my god, he's set.
And I thought, that's what this is about. It doesn't
matter what was on my piece of paper to teach.
She couldn't believe that another living being listened to her,
(12:58):
that she had agency over somebody else. And that's the
kind of thing that we see all the time.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Anything else you would like anyone to know about volunteering.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
We provide transportation or we reimburse for transportation, because when
you have a therapy dog, generally people volunteer somewhere where
it's convenient, where they can walk. But when I started
the program fifteen years ago, I knew that for us
to serve the kids that I really thought needed it
the most, we were going to have to get volunteers
to school. So we have a relationship with a pet
(13:35):
taxi we've had almost the entire fifteen years. We reimburse
we pick up so that it's not a problem for
people to get where they go. And the other thing
is they get to volunteer with other people. Normally, when
you volunteer as a therapy dog team, you go to
a hospital, you visit a number of rooms, et cetera.
And let's be clear, if I'm ever in the hospital,
(13:57):
I want a therapy dog to visit me. But in
our program, often you ride with other volunteers. We have
one group in Brooklyn that has named themselves the Dream
Team and they're on a group text and like they
always take everything as a challenge and they're like, the
dream Team is up for it, you know. So if
there's a lot of camaraderie and they can talk about
(14:21):
their experience with the kids and how it's evolved and
how it's impacted them in a way that in most
therapy dog programs you don't get a chance to do.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
And just one more question, So you're in the Bronx
Brooklyn and Manhattan, how would more volunteers help you expand
and what areas would you like to expand into.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Well, there's certainly, as I said, no shortage of need.
We have had a program in Queens, we just don't
really have any teams there. We're talking about doing an
info session out in Long Island City, which would be great.
I think a lot of people just don't know where
to get started. They think, yeah, I would kind of
like to do this work. You know, I don't know
if my dog would be good at this or not.
(15:02):
Or they think their dog has to be like perfect,
and they totally don't have to be perfect. They're dogs,
you know, so they have to be under control.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
You know.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
I shouldn't even say this, but we had a dog
for years who was in the program. I mean, you
can't have a barking dog, right, But if we were
sitting too long talking she would start doing like a
hound howl and we used to joked it was like, Okay,
clearly we've been talking enough. It's time to get up
and work. So they're dogs, which is part of the beauty.
(15:33):
They live in the moment. They don't judge, they don't
care like what sneakers you're wearing. If you love them,
they'll love you back and that's why they're so great
at this.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
I am sure that you can get all the information
you need about volunteering with your dog and if your
dog is the right match for a Fair Shake for
Youth with Audrey Hendler. She is the founder. You can
find out more on the website A Fair Shake for Youth, Audrey,
Thank you for being to get connected.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
My pleasure. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
This has been get connected with Nina del Rio on
one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and
opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views
of the station. If you missed any part of our
show or want to share it, visit our website for
downloads and podcasts at one o six to seven lightfm
dot com. Thanks for listening.
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