Dingonatura has started the year with the project “A dog, a happy child,” a beautiful initiative seeking to help the children of the Ana Carolina Díez Mahou Foundation, who suffer from neuromuscular and mitochondrial diseases, pathologies considered to be rare conditions, that affect children from a very early age, causing functional disabilities and developmental disorders.
The Oficina de Intervención Asistida con Animales (Animal Assisted Intervention Office) at the King Juan Carlos University, sponsored by Dingonatura, has organized 24 therapy sessions assisted by dogs for two groups of four children affected by these diseases. The goal is to improve their quality of life and their independence thanks to the interaction with their therapists and the dogs from the organization Perros Azules. They will work in a playful and stimulating environment in order to help them discover the world around them.
The objectives of the program are:
- Stimulating their oral communication ability and its adequate structures.
- Developing social skills in groups.
- Encouraging personal autonomy.
- Stimulating gross and fine motor skills.
The activities will be carried out with a distinct playful nature, following a general topic and a direct interaction with the therapy dogs, always taking into account the characteristics of each minor.
During the whole project, which will last until June, meetings with the specialists and the families will be held in order to asses the results. When the project is over, there will be a session aimed to share those results with each family and with all the agents involved.
The day the program launched, we were moved by the children’s smiles when they saw the dogs that were going to be with them in that and other sessions. It is undoubtedly a pleasure for Dingonatura to have helped giving life to this initiative in order to prove the effectiveness of these dog-assisted therapies and be able to establish them among the usual activities the Ana Carolina Foundation generously offers to these affected children and to honor the name of the program: “A dog, a happy child.”