How to Request a Therapy Dog Visit
All therapy dog visits within VCU Health are complimentary as a service provided by the Center for Human-Animal Interaction. VCU Health patients, their families, and staff, are all encouraged to visit with Dogs on Call.
Request a “Dogs on Call” therapy dog visit at the VCU Medical Center:
- Email
chai@vcuhealth.org - Call
(804) 827-PAWS - Page (Using a VCU Health Pager)
#6134
To request a visit, simply tell us the hospital, floor, and room number (or nurse’s station) where you would like the visit to occur. If the visit is with a patient, please confirm that there are no contact precautions in place for the patient. Please be aware that we may not be able to fulfill every request and there are restrictions on where and whom we can visit.
Requests for visits at the Children's Hospital of Richmond are completed in the same way as other visit requests at VCU Medical Center. In addition to providing us with the hospital (CHoR), floor, and room number, please confirm that there are no precautions in place for the patient and that the patient is three years old or older.
In addition to making brief drop-in visits, Dogs on Call may also be able to attend your event. To learn more and to request a Dogs on Call therapy dog at your event, please email us at chai@vcuhealth.org at least 4 weeks prior to the event. Please note that our priority is visiting patients in the hospital, so we may not have the scope to add your event to our calendar and also maintain consistent visitation at VCU Health.
Therapy dogs are dogs that have been specially trained and tested to safely interact with people. A therapy dog is a clean, well-behaved working dog whose job is to visit with people to provide them with comfort and relaxation.
All of the therapy dogs in Dogs on Call have completed strict requirements. They are registered with Pet Partners or the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, and have also passed additional in-person screenings within a medical setting. The dogs are well-groomed and free of odor, with recent bathing, clean teeth, and trimmed nails. Dogs on Call dogs are subject to many strict health requirements including vaccination requirements, routine parasite screenings, and dietary restrictions (raw meat diets are prohibited.) Dogs on Call handlers have also been carefully evaluated and trained, including passing background checks.
A therapy dog visit is a brief, friendly interaction between a handler and their therapy dog and an individual or group. These informal interactions are unique to the dog and people present. Therapy dog visits have scientifically-documented therapeutic value. Rigorous research conducted by CHAI faculty provides evidence that therapy dog visits support emotional well-being, promote social interaction and reduce stress, anxiety, and loneliness.