Richard Waxman is the Executive Director, and his two dogs featured in the picture, Lucky & Scruffy, were the actual founders!
Our 501C3 Non-Profit is now celebrating its 25th year of serving the desert community with its therapy dog program. Our organization takes therapy dogs, Canine Ambassadors as we refer to them, into long-term care facilities, cancer centers and Alzheimer’s facilities for weekly visits.
Our visiting teams (human and canine) are made up of local residents who have amazing dogs that want a weekly job making a visit to a facility to bring a smile to the residents.
The concept is very simple: if you are a full-time resident (sorry, no snowbirds) with an amazing dog and you wish to share him or her with the community, our organization will temperament test your dog. If he or she passes, we will train the two of you to become volunteers. You must be able to commit to weekly visits and be willing to let your dog do all the work… you are just the drivers!
We ask everyone to please reference the article entitled, “The Perfect Volunteer Inquiry!” Scan the QR code or visit www.pawsandhearts.org/docs/news/2025WinterNewsletter.pdf from our current Newsletter. It is important that you review our website and training videos before your first call so that you understand what it is you and your pup will be volunteering to do.
We truly have the most dedicated volunteers. If you are interested in visiting a long-term care facility, cancer center, or an Alzheimer’s facility, we have an assignment for you and your pup! You must be incredibly adept at ‘listening’ to the folks you visit while your dog truly does all the work by being incredibly engaging with each-and-every person you both visit!
Once you have reviewed our website, watched the videos, call us and tell us all about your dog! Call 760-836-1406. Our office is in the Berger Charitable Foundation Building.
