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Paws to Connect
Volume 1, Issue 3: Spring 2026
| | Celebrating the human-animal bond since 1982 | | PAL Attie visits with students at the University of Maryland during one of their Wags for Wellness events. | | |
Hello, PAL community!
I’m pleased to share that this fall, PAL will launch an enhanced training initiative in animal-assisted interventions (AAI) for prospective therapy dog–handler teams, combining a new online Handler Training course with in‑person therapy team skills classes offered in collaboration with local positive dog trainers. Grounded in AAI standards of practice and therapy animal team competencies, the training strengthens core handler skills such as reading canine body language, advocating for one's animal partner, facilitating client interactions, and making sound, welfare‑based decisions while visiting in complex, dynamic environments such as hospitals and schools.
This important investment in training is possible thanks to the incredible generosity of our PAL community. Your donations — especially the $31,000 raised on National Therapy Animal Day — help provide the resources needed to ensure our therapy teams are well prepared to deliver safe, effective visits that promote human and animal health and well-being. Thank you for your ongoing support and for being an essential part of PAL’s work and growth.
I invite you to paws to connect with us any time. Enjoy our Spring newsletter!
Pawsitively yours,
| | | | Heather Gomes, C-AAIS
Executive Director | |
- Welcome New PAL Therapy Teams!
- Intro to PAL's Therapy Dog Program
- Celebrating our Volunteers
- Got Historical PAL Photos?
- Pawprints in the Community
- Did You Know? Positive Dog Training Nurtures the Bond
- In PAL News
- Everyday Giving
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- Your IRA Can Support PAL
- Get to Know a PAL Team
- Meet a Host Site Partner
- A Special Wish Granted
- PAL Board News
- Upcoming Community Outreach Events
- Get Your Official PAL Merch
- Our Community Needs You!
- Words to Wag By
| | Welcome New PAL Therapy Teams! | | PAL is delighted to welcome its newest volunteers and therapy dog‑handler teams. Through visits in schools, hospitals, senior communities, and beyond, these PAL dog-handler teams are already brightening days and lifting spirits. Each handler, dog, and team brings their own unique talents and special joy to our community, and we're excited to see and hear about the meaningful impact they'll make! | Jennifer & PAL Mr. Munchkin | | | Intro to PAL's Therapy Dog Program | | |
Are you interested in volunteering with your dog as a therapy dog-handler team or do you know someone who is? We invite you to reserve a spot at our in-person information session, Intro to PAL's Therapy Dog Program, or share the flyer below:
Sunday, May 31
11:00am -12:00pm
Fur-Get Me Not, Arlington, VA
This event is for prospective handlers (without their dogs). The event is free, but participants must register in advance.
Sign up: https://tinyurl.com/LearnAboutPAL Share the event flyer.
| | Celebrating our Volunteers | | |
At PAL's eagerly anticipated volunteer appreciation party, Be Our PALentine: The Spring Edition, held last month at the home of PAL volunteer Sheila Consaul, PAL's three staff members thanked our dedicated volunteers for their service, commitment, and the impact they make in our communities. We presented special appreciation awards to 10 volunteers for outstanding service in 2025 and beyond. Congratulations to the recipients!
Cortney Fisher, Rookie of the Year
Richard Grauel, Paws for Reading Impact
Joe Harrington, Paws for Reading Impact
Christoph Ruesch, Steadfast Service
Lydia La Motta, Gateway to Great Teams
Brad Abel, Guiding Paw Leadership
Cathy Loyd, Compassion in Action (for most visits in 2025 — 55!)
Amy Tanen, Compassion in Action (for most visits in 2025 — 55!)
Emily Mazzella, Community Impact Leadership
Maryann Sabol, Quality & Compassion Steward
We extend our sincere thanks to Sheila for hosting the event, as well as to the generous individuals and organizations who donated gift baskets, books, pet portraits, theater tickets, and other wonderful items for our door prize drawing. Their generosity added an extra layer of fun and excitement, making the day truly memorable for our volunteers.
In-kind donors:
PAL handler & host, Sheila Consaul
PAL Board member, Jessica Eisenberg
PAL Board member, Donna Snyder
PAL alumna & author, Melanie Kaplan
Artist, Marti Andress
The Big Bad Woof (pet shop in Takoma Park, MD)
The Olney Theater Center
| | Got Historical PAL Photos? | | |
Next year will mark 45 years of People Animals Love! Time flies when you're joyously connecting people with animals and harnessing the power of the human-animal bond to better people's lives. As we prepare to celebrate our 45th birthday, we could use your help gathering snapshots, stories, and program highlights from the past four and a half decades, especially the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. If you were a volunteer, staff member, or community partner during PAL's earlier years, we would love to hear from you. Please email records@peopleanimalslove.org to share historical photos and fond memories. Former executive director James Haworth has kindly volunteered to help preserve PAL's history, and he would be happy to connect with you by phone as well. Thank you!
| | Pawprints in the Community | | |
PAL Lucy
PAL Dog Since: 2023
Breed: Bloodhound mix
Age: 5
Visits: Virginia libraries, Carpenter's Shelter, U.S. Capitol Police, among others.
Fun Fact: If Lucy really likes you, she will sit on your feet.
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PAL Reine
PAL Dog Since: 2023
Breed: Chow Chow
Age: 5
Visits: Hart Senate Office Building, U.S. Coast Guard, National Foreign Affairs Training Center, among others.
Fun Fact: Reine has no concept of her size and confidently charges at animals bigger than her — cows, goats, deer, even horses. She loves other dogs and humans, though.
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Did You Know?
Positive Dog Training Nurtures the Bond
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At PAL, we champion a purely positive, reward-based, relationship-based, fear‑free, force‑free, pain‑free approach to dog training because positive training is fun and effective, builds trust between you and your dog, and honors the mutually beneficial human-animal bond. To learn more about positive training methods and strengthening your relationship with your dog, check out recommended resources on our website, including How to Train Your Dog With Love and Science (book and podcast) and Your Dog's Not Broken (and Neither Are You) (podcast).
Rockville, Maryland-based nonprofit Your Dog’s Friend (YDF) provides a list of local positive trainers. For more information on positive training, see the YDF article below and the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior Position Statement on Humane Training.
What Is Positive Training?
courtesy of Your Dog's Friend
There has been much discussion about which dog training methods are the most appropriate for our dogs. We think that a quick overview may help clarify the issue.
Traditional dog training has evolved from military dog training used in World War I and II. Through the 1980’s, punishment-oriented training using choke chain collars was typical. Subsequently, modern learning theory has been applied to dog training, and progressive trainers use non-aversive techniques, such as positive reinforcement with treats, praise, and play as their primary tools. Read the full article here.
| | PAL was honored to be recognized along with other local therapy animal organizations on April 21, 2026 when Montgomery County Council President Natali Fani-González and Vice President Marilyn Balcombe issued a proclamation naming April as Therapy Animal Appreciation Month. | | |
Everyday Giving
The Everyday Giving Pledge is a simple commitment to give more and give local
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PAL is proud to partner with Spur Local, a DC-based nonprofit dedicated to inspiring people to invest in their local communities. Did you know there is now a permanent charitable tax deduction for donors who do not itemize? Eligible taxpayers can deduct up to $1,000 in cash charitable donations as a single filer, or up to $2,000 as a joint filer.
We hope this expanded deduction encourages you to consider increasing your giving — and to support local nonprofits like PAL that make a direct impact close to home. To learn more and take the pledge, visit EverydayGivingPledge.org.
| | If you’re 70½ or older, you can use your IRA to make a meaningful gift to PAL. This type of gift—called a Qualified Charitable Distribution—goes directly from your IRA to our organization and may reduce your taxable income. Many supporters find this to be one of the easiest and most impactful ways to give. We recommend consulting your financial or tax advisor to determine whether a QCD is right for you. | | Jeffrey S. has been a PAL handler since 2018, first with his PAL pup Carson and now with PAL Kashew. We asked Jeffrey to tell us about his volunteer service and teaming with his dogs. | | |
What inspired you to become a volunteer with PAL?
After open heart surgery at Suburban Hospital, I became a volunteer for both Mended Hearts and the hospital's emergency department. I noticed they participated in PAL and I had a well-trained dog at that time named Carson who I thought would be a good fit for this volunteer program. I contacted PAL and went through the onboarding process. I wanted to give back to the hospital that helped me in my time of need. Since I have owned many dogs and am familiar with the joy they can bring to us humans, it seemed a natural fit.
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How did you know Kashew had the right temperament for therapy work?
Kashew was rescued from the Canine Humane Network, and it didn’t take long to know she had that special temperament needed to be a therapy dog. After we took some training classes, it became even more obvious how well she would fit into the PAL mission. She simply loves people and can easily make any willing person reach out for her affection.
| PAL Kashew listening to a child read at Quince Orchard Library. | |
What would you tell someone considering becoming a PAL volunteer?
If you would like to share the love your dog brings to you with other people needing such affection, GO FOR IT!
| PAL Kashew getting hugs from a teacher at Watkins Mill High School. | | | PAL Carson at Suburban Hospital. | |
What types of places do you and Kashew visit through PAL?
We mostly visit close to home. Our visits have included Cold Spring Elementary School, Lakelands Middle School, Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents, Strawberry Knoll Elementary School, Shady Grove Behavioral Health, University of Maryland, and Quince Orchard Library. We currently make visits to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility and Watkins Mill High School.
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What do you enjoy most about volunteering as a therapy dog handler?
Watching people I have just met instantaneously show love to Kashew and how that kindness spreads to their interaction with me as her handler. Accomplishing the same without Kashew would be a tough act to follow.
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Can you share a memorable moment from one of your visits?
At our visits at Watkins Mill High School, Kashew has become a fixture outside the Media Center, where she sits during lunch period greeting staff and students as they pass by. When we returned to Watkins Mill for our third year, the Media Specialist and some students and staff had put together a presentation on the entrance bulletin board welcoming Kashew back. The display included photographs of past students and staff petting and playing with Kashew, showing the joy visible in their faces. It made me feel valued bringing the PAL mission to the school.
| PAL Kashew in front of her "welcome back" bulletin board at Watkins Mill High School. | | PAL has been making therapy dog visits with graduate medical students, residents and staff in various departments at The George Washington University's School of Medicine and Health Sciences since 2022. We asked Viktoriya Karakcheyeva, Associate Director/Behavioral Health Director at GW's Resiliency & Well-being Center to tell us more about the effect PAL therapy visits have on their students and staff. | | |
What motivated you to bring therapy dogs to your facility?
Healthcare training environments are intense. Medical students and residents are constantly balancing clinical responsibilities, academic expectations, long hours, and exposure to difficult patient situations. We were looking for ways to introduce small but meaningful moments of relief during the day.
Therapy dogs may seem like a simple intervention, but they create an immediate shift in the environment.
One resident remarked, “In healthcare people rarely stop moving. The dogs give people permission to pause for a few minutes.”
We also wanted something that felt approachable. Not everyone is ready to engage in formal wellness programming, but most people will stop to say hello to a dog.
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What changes have you observed in students and staff during and after therapy dog visits?
People who look exhausted or stressed often soften the moment they interact with the dogs. You see people smiling, kneeling down on the floor, or chatting with colleagues they might otherwise just pass in the hallway.
“For a few minutes people stop talking about patients or their to-do lists and start connecting,” said a resident.
Dogs create a safe space for spontaneous and carefree connection between people.
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How do the visits complement your existing programs or services?
The therapy dog visits are not meant to replace more structured supports like counseling, peer support, or well-being programming. Instead, they serve as a very accessible entry point.
Many students or residents first connect with the Resiliency & Well-being Center through a therapy dog visit. One counselor commented, “Someone might come over just to pet the dog, and then they end up asking about other resources or programs.”
They also help normalize the idea that taking a short break is acceptable, which is something that many people in healthcare struggle with.
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Can you share a particularly memorable moment or story from a therapy dog visit?
One moment that stands out involved a resident who had just finished a long overnight shift. They looked completely drained and almost walked past the therapy dogs.
One of the handlers invited them over, and they sat quietly with the dog for a few minutes.
Afterward the resident said, “I didn’t realize how much I needed that.”
Those moments remind us how little time healthcare professionals sometimes have to reset and dogs create that space in a simple but very powerful way.
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How have your staff members responded to the therapy dog program?
Staff response has been very positive, but also very honest. People appreciate the dogs because they provide something that feels genuine and uncomplicated.
Faculty and staff often tell us they appreciate that the program creates small moments of humanity in an otherwise very structured and demanding environment.
“The dogs remind us that it’s okay to be human in a very demanding line of work that demands you keep a “superhuman stance,” said one staff member.
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PAL had the privilege of granting a special wish to a resident of Paul Springs Retirement Community. Ms. Holiday and her dog Argo used to visit hospitals to comfort sick children. She wanted to feel that joy again, so we arranged for her to join our Read to a PAL Dog visit at Dolley Madison Library in March.
The visit turned out to be a heartwarming experience for all involved. Ms. Holiday enjoyed interacting with the kids, and they were just as captivated by her. They loved hearing stories about her past visits to hospitals, and how she and Argo had once brought smiles to children who were going through some of their hardest days. For many of the young readers, it was a reminder that kindness comes in all shapes — and sometimes, it has four paws.
We were proud to present Ms. Holiday with a certificate naming her an "Honorary PAL" — a small token of appreciation for a lifetime of compassion. It was a joy to give Ms. Holiday the chance to feel that special magic once more, and a good reminder of why we do what we do.
| | Ms. Holiday with PAL Goldie. | | |
Dawn Mancuso has stepped down from PAL’s Board of Directors after an extraordinary 19 years of dedicated service. We are profoundly grateful for Dawn’s leadership, steadfast commitment, and deep belief in PAL’s mission through nearly two decades marked by growth, change, and resilience. Her guidance helped the organization navigate significant challenges, revise its bylaws, and thoughtfully evolve its programs to meet the moment. Among her many contributions, Dawn served as the liaison and volunteer coordinator for the National EMS Memorial Service — a deeply moving event where PAL therapy dog-handler teams provided comfort and connection to the families of first responders who lost their lives in the line of duty. This work reflects the compassion and purpose Dawn brought to every aspect of her role. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Dawn for her lasting impact on PAL and wish her every success and fulfillment in the next chapter of her journey.
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Please join us in welcoming Jean Cibuzar to the PAL Board of Directors! Jean has been a valued member of the PAL family since 2008, sharing her PAL bullmastiff dogs Brick, Emmy, and Will with those in need at retirement communities and other drop-in visits. She also served as a PAL group lead while between dogs. Jean is a CPA who offers extensive leadership experience as a finance executive, with deep expertise in strategic planning, financial forecasting, and guiding teams toward meaningful outcomes. She is widely respected for her ability to bring clarity, focus, and momentum to organizational goals — skills that will be instrumental as PAL continues to expand its reach and impact. Jean’s unwavering commitment to mission-driven work, thoughtful use of technology to enhance organizational effectiveness, and longstanding PAL service make her an outstanding addition to our Board. We are delighted to welcome her passion, insight, and experience as we look to the future of PAL.
| | PAL is looking to grow its Board of Directors. If you have experience or an interest in nonprofit governance, fundraising, finance, marketing, law, community outreach, animal welfare, human health, or social services, we’d love to hear from you. Joining PAL’s Board is a meaningful opportunity to amplify our impact and help shape the organization’s future. To learn more, please email heather@peopleanimalslove.org. | | Upcoming Community Outreach Events | | PAL will be at Paws in the Park in Gaithersburg, Maryland on Saturday, May 16 from 12:00pm-4:00pm. This exciting, dog-centric, pet-loving festival is now in its 25th year. Sponsored by the Montgomery County Humane Society, Paws in the Park attracts close to 1,000 pet enthusiasts (and their dogs) for a day of family fun that also supports the life-saving work of the MCHS. Stop by and say hello! | | PAL also will be recruiting prospective volunteers and spreading therapy dog love at Reston Town Center in Virginia on Sunday, June 7 from 11:00am-3:00pm at Animal Expedition (formerly Pet Palooza). This outdoor, family-friendly event welcomes the summer season with animal-related businesses, pet adoption non-profits, educational exhibits, and tons of pet-related entertainment. | | Come by and see us! We would love to meet you and your dog. | | Get Your Official PAL Merch | | You don't have to partner with a therapy dog to contribute to PAL's mission and work. Below are a few ways you can get involved. | | |
Volunteer — No Dog Required!
We’re looking for passionate individuals to support PAL behind the scenes:
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Social Media Volunteer. Are you creative and social media savvy? Help us craft engaging posts and reels that highlight PAL’s impact and build community connections.
Ready to make a difference? Fill out our volunteer application or email info@peopleanimalslove.org.
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Amplify Our Voice Online
- Follow us on social media. Like, comment on, and share our posts to spread awareness and connect others to our mission.
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Vote, and invite your friends and family to vote, in this summer's PAL Dog Photo Contest (coming soon)!
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Share the Love
Forward this newsletter to animal-loving, civic-minded friends, family, and colleagues.
| | "It is amazing how much love and laughter they [dogs] bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them."
~ John Grogan, author of Marley & Me | | |
| The demand for therapy dog visits is higher than ever. Your gift helps make it possible to train, register, and field more therapy teams. Thank you for making a pawsitive difference in our community with a gift to PAL today! | | If this newsletter was forwarded to you and you wish to receive future issues and updates from PAL, please subscribe by clicking the button below. | | The mission of People Animals Love is to use the power of the human-animal bond to comfort the lonely, ease the pain of the sick, and enrich people's lives. | | | | |
