When Thom Jones said “Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them and filling an emptiness we did not know we had” he was speaking to the heart of the pawsome non-profit RocDog in Rochester, New York. I had the honor to meet with Joshua, the first therapy RocDog, and his human Paul Anthony, who founded RocDog.
“Be Strong and of Good Courage.” Joshua 1:9
In 2021 as COVID19 was impacting the way in which we lived our life, Paul who purposely had sought out a puppy that could become a therapy dog, wanted to help the Rochester community. He wanted to take action to support people by bringing a therapy dog to environments such as police departments, schools, and senior living facilities. To support people in any way he could. Paul reached out to see if a few other humans would be interested in volunteering their time with their certified therapy dogs to help. His goal was to get three dogs and humans to help. Within a short period of time there were 64 dogs and combined with 94 humans ready to go and help out. RocDog became an official non-profit on March 9, 2021.
“Everything comes in it’s own time.” Paul Anthony
In the short time RocDog has been a non-profit the dogs have touched lives with healing and kindness. From being present at the funeral of a beloved firefighter, to spending time in schools with students, sometimes after tragedies, going to senior living facilities, and taking the dogs to the 911 call center on a consistently scheduled basis, there is magic to the goodness that happens. The role of the human handler of the dog is to say little and let the friendly presence of the dog do the work. When I met with Paul he brought Joshua along. People were excited to see Joshua wanting some pets and softness. Some of the most healing moments in life are moments with no words. Just soft fur and a friendly face.
“When I look into the eyes of an animal, I do not see an animal. I see a living being. I see a friend. I feel a soul.” Anthony Douglas Williams
Paul, who with his wife Sue, feeds 35 orphaned children in Haiti on a monthly basis, are thorough in all things RocDog. Paul values people and views each volunteer as family. There is a Ministry Of Understanding with each facility RocDog provides dog therapy services to. RocDog follows the rules of the organization it is visiting unless the rules could endanger the dog or the dog’s owner. Volunteers go through background checks. All t’s are crossed and i”s are dotted to make sure the necessary requirements are completed for a person and dog to volunteer with RocDog. There is a purposeful manner to keep the volunteering process easy to access and use so more time can be spent taking dogs to places to be with people. Paul visits a potential volunteer site (with Joshua of course) to walk the place so he can share with volunteers what to expect. There are monthly gatherings for volunteers (and dogs) to provide support and build community. Keep in mind Paul does all of this while working full-time. Paul is hoping that one day RocDog will take up all of his time . As he talked about RocDog you could feel the joy of everything happening. The signature on his email says it all “We can all be better if we work together. “Dogs do Wonderful Things.“
“Why does watching a dog be a dog fill one with happiness.” Jonathan Safran Foer
This mighty non-profit is less than one year old, which in human dog years would be around 15 years old according to the akc.org, is just beginning with all the goodness and joy they want to bring. Due to demand they are now bringing therapy dogs to six counties in western New York. Paul has actively begun the process of rescuing dogs (he has three at his home at this time) to become therapy dogs who provide support to children and adults who are autistic. In “Paws for Hearts” the family would work with a trainer and the dog they adopted. Eventually they could volunteer in RocDog in a way that works for them to continue to pay it forward. Paul continues to think of ways to expand RocDog to be there for others whether it be everyday or to help with healing after tragic events. He has been blown away by all the support and help he has received to support RocDog. The intent to do all the good they could, in any way they could, using the healing and happy presence of therapy dogs is growing by the day. In less than one year RocDog is going into over 65 facilities, has about 75 certified therapy dogs with over 100 humans as handlers and helpers. RocDog has lightened up many faces, created tons of smiles, giggles, laughs, and even helped some pent up tears to flow.
It is with honor and admiration the Kindness Champion spotlight shines on RocDog in Rochester, New York. We thank you for bringing your pawsome awesome to the world.
To learn more about the amazing RocDog here is their information:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RocDog-104642611722008/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rocdogofficial/?hl=en
