Never Alone.
Bella’s Buddies brings Animal Assisted Therapy candidates into public school classrooms using teacher foster and student-involved training to enrich the learning environment. After successfully completing the K9U program, canine graduates are donated to schools, veterans long-term care facilities and hospitals, and organizations that serve in low socionomic and at-risk communities.
Bella’s Buddies Inc. joins organizations with canines that are trained to alert and respond to specific needs in order to increase social and behavioral proficiencies, promote physical wellness, and encourage independence in solitary and social environments.
The Bella’s Buddies K9U program vision is to include public school students in the training of golden retrievers and goldendoodles for use as future facility and therapy dogs for organizations who focus on veterans and schools in need. K9U responds to schools and communities in crisis by providing dog/handler teams who are trained in conflict resolution and grief response.
The Bella’s Buddies K9U training program works to promote public school student interest in contributing to society and appreciating the service of veterans by utilizing the classroom setting to train future service, facility, therapy and emotional support dogs for organizations who seek to enrich the lives of individuals using animal assistance.
SERVICE DOGS
Bella’s Buddies prioritizes educational institutions and federal, state and local agencies who serve veterans and active duty military service members. Bella’s Buddies does not task-train service dogs for individuals. There are many service dog organizations throughout the United States. Each is focused on training canines to help with specific individual disabilities. Please contact a local service dog organization near you for more information.
Watch this video to see our mission coming to life in schools, VA facilities and organizations across the nation!
Please consider helping Bella’s Buddies achieve our goals
Bridging Generations Using Animal Assisted Therapy
Members of the DogSquad work in K-12 classrooms, helping kids with special needs in speech therapy, occupational therapy, and even reading! The DogSquad offers students the chance to make a mistake without judgment or correction. We also help with behavior support in the areas of bullying, completing tasks and self-worth. Our one-of-a-kind K9U program focuses specifically on utilizing teachers, students and dogs in training to create a symbiotic relationship in which all stakeholders can benefit. Teachers foster dogs in training and the K9s go to school with them each day. Students earn time with the dogs to teach them basic obedience and tricks, increasing difficulty as the year progresses. School administrators, counselors and teachers have found that the overall campus climate is greatly improved when a dog is on campus. Students report less test anxiety and improved concentration during assignments. Attendance and test scores increase, as does student participation in extra curricular activities and class discussions.
Our canine buddies help in various health-related environments. They can often be found comforting patients young and old in hospitals and nursing facilities. They even make house calls. Some of our puppies have grown up to be VIPs in their families, alerting mom when she is needed in another room or keeping grandma safe. The DogSquad has helped with grief and crisis support, Hospice needs and in physical therapy labs where they aid in mobility. Often, Bella’s Buddies can be found in homes for the elderly where they bring joy to patients and staff. Cadets from the Corps of Cadets Squadron 6 ROTC program at Texas A&M volunteer with us throughout the year, taking the dogs to visit elderly veterans in the College Station community, swapping stories and “good bull” with longtime Old Ags.