Therapeutic Paws of Canada’s therapy dogs visit Halifax’s Discovery Centre

There were a lot of excited children — and wagging tails — at the Discovery Centre in Halifax this weekend.

The centre is currently featuring an exhibit on Cats and Dogs. Therapeutic Paws of Canada was invited to the exhibit on Saturday as a special guest.

Several child-certified therapy dogs were on hand to meet and greet animal enthusiasts of all ages.

The dogs all go through an extensive evaluation process to ensure they interact well with children. The volunteer handlers dedicate their time to visiting different facilities and helping to make people happy and reduce stress.

“There’s stress in children’s lives, there’s stress in adults’ lives, and a lot of the parents here today, I’m sure they’re just delighted to have some of the children come in … and the dogs help them de-stress,” said Therapeutic Paws team leader Mark Grant.

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Therapeutic Paws is a non-profit volunteer organization with chapters across the country. The group has 50 therapy dog teams based in Halifax alone.

For more information on the organization, visit their website.