Philadelphia Family Courthouse Therapy Dog Program

Beginning in February, 2018, Philadelphia Family Court (PFC) began utilizing therapy dogs in the courthouse. Their responsibilities are to provide psychological therapy to individuals other than their handlers. These dogs have stable temperaments and friendly, easy-going personalities. Unlike service dogs, therapy dogs are encouraged to interact with a variety of people while they are on-duty including petting the therapy dog. There are tangible benefits of utilizing therapy dogs because the less anxious people are about being in a courtroom setting the better the information the judge will get about making the difficult decisions they have to make.

PFC has entered into an arrangement with Comfort Caring Canines (CCC) Therapy Dogs, Inc. Dogs and their handlers are volunteers who are trained in therapy assistance by CCC.

Anyone interested in volunteering to learn more about the therapy dog program should visit Comfort Caring Canines website at www.comfortcaringcanines.org or email evaluation@comfortcaringcanines.org