Paws for Healing

Therapy dogs have proven hugely beneficial for many work environments. Dogs can elevate human mood, offer social support, mobility assistance, help regulate emotion thus reducing stress, anxiety and depression. A tail-wagging dog resting his head on your lap would immediately lift your spirit—no doubt about it. The non-profit Healing Pause takes this idea one step further by turning therapy dogs into full-time staff members. Man’s best friend can now become your co-worker.

Healing Pause serves organizations in need by providing trained and sponsored on-staff facility/therapy dogs. An on-staff dog allows for deeper encounters between staff and residents, or between patients and the public. These therapeutic interactions ripple throughout a facility, then out to the community, promoting outreach opportunities for brand management and marketing.

This incredible organization is the brainchild of Founder and Director Nathan Davila. Nathan’s passion for all animals began as a child. His family bred dogs, and he credits his pets with getting him through some of the darkest times in his life. Working with animals through childhood, he quickly realized the impact they could have on others both emotionally and intellectually. In 2016, during a positive phase of life, he had the idea to bring the healing qualities of dogs to those in need, and began Healing Pause. The organization received its 501C-3 status in 2019.

Nathan readily discovered that different reputable organizations accept dog donations differently. He needed to create a turnkey package to meet his goals, as well as those of the prospective organization. Healing Pause helps organizations attain on-staff therapy dog experience within hospitals, schools, senior living centers and special needs communities.

Currently, the organization has placed two dogs. Momo, a 2015 female yellow Labrador Retriever, was trained in Texas at Drachten Performance and donated through Healing Pause to the NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler on Roosevelt Island in 2020. She lives full-time in the hospital and works with three handlers to cover the various units, events, and situational therapy that she is trained to perform. Momo is characterized by her un-reactive, relaxing presence.

Located in Brookshire, Texas, 40 miles west of downtown Houston, The Brookwood Community is a non-profit residential facility and vocational program for adults with disabilities, and also home to the lovable Demi. Demi, a 2015 British type Labrador Retriever, brings joy and comfort to her people between retrieving balls all day long. Her duties at Brookwood including watching over activities, helping her handler perform office therapy, and providing help anywhere it may be needed on campus.

Connecting the right dog to the proper facility is not easy. Proper training is key, so Healing Pause puts one of the best in the field to the task. Maxim Basyro received his dog training education during his service with the Russian military training specialists. The dogs performed a variety of tasks such as airport and railway service, port and road control checkpoints to bomb and drug detection and human tracking.

Maxim now resides in California, where he has taught the theory and practice of dog training for over 15 years and garnered an impressive list of accomplishments which include directing the development of the Stationary Dog Training Program, as well as the Diversant program, used for testing the professional abilities of prospective service dogs. He now provides courses for dog lovers of all kinds, from trainers, to handlers, to groomers, and for children; in addition to courses for dogs of specific personalities and breeds, as well as training service and guard dogs. Maxim is also the founder of the Kanis-therapy method, a program for dog-loving children with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and other disabilities.

Notably, Healing Pause also focuses on securing the funding needed to supply a special-needs school, hospital, or facility with an on-site therapy dog. This costs approximately $32,000 within the United States and $36,000 internationally. These costs cover the breeder, medical care, training, flights and basic upkeep for the dog until it moves into its forever home. In addition to Maxim’s routine training, the dog is brought to the venue for an intensive one-on-one training and turn-over week. This rigorous training pays for itself as the dogs become irreplaceable members of their local communities.

Dogs can be vehicles of generational change for donors and businesses alike. Donors can even change their names to their liking. Media coverage of the dog’s first day of work at a local facility would make for a golden feel-good story. A successful social media campaign can turn the dog into a working mascot, not to mention making appearances at events and fundraising galas.

Support Healing Pause by spreading the word to local facilities with an interest in on-staff therapy dogs, and by helping fundraise their placement in needed locations. For more information, visit healingpause.org. Personally, I cannot think of a better co-worker to have beside me throughout the day!