About the Program

The Dogs on Call therapy dog program provides complementary therapy to enhance the wellbeing of patients, staff, and students through canine-assisted interventions. Dogs on Call teams visit many VCU Health and VCU campuses. Dogs on Call teams also participate in special university and hospital-supported events, such as Paws for Stress for students during mid-term and final exams.

To request a Dogs on Call visit at VCU Medical Center:

While we cannot guarantee a visit due to high demand, our teams make every effort to meet requests. 

View a Day in the life of a Dogs on Call team

There is always a need for new teams to volunteer with Dogs on Call. If you have a friendly, well-behaved dog and would like to learn more about volunteering as a Dogs on Call team, click here!

A Leonberger stands roughly one foot shorter than a pediatric patient who is peaking over from the other side of him with his arms around the dog with a ginormous smile.