The India Autism Center has organised SAMMILIT – a holistic three-day-conference on “Autism: Diversity and integration.” Held in Kolkata on the 10th, 11th and 12th of January ‘20, the conference will open up conversations on scientific research and personal experiences with individuals on the spectrum to present the history of Autism. Our founder Mrs Minal Kavishwar is invited as a speaker at the conference and would be presenting on how Animal Assisted Interventions is beneficial for autism

Animal Angels team presented at the ISAZ conference held at the University of Sydney in Australia. Our team presented a paper based on the research conducted at the DY Patil Dental Hospital, on Effect of Therapy dogs on Pediatric Dental Anxiety. [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="9" display_type="photocrati-nextgen_basic_imagebrowser" ajax_pagination="0" order_by="sortorder" order_direction="ASC" returns="included" maximum_entity_count="500"]

Our founder, Mrs. Minal Kavishwar, was presented with the 'Exceptional Women of Excellence' award, at the Women’s Economic Forum held at Vivanta, Dwarka, Delhi, by the All Ladies League. She was also the keynote speaker for the forum and addressed the group on 'Disruptive Innovations in Health and Wellness'.

Our founder, Mrs. Minal Kavishwar, is now an International Pet Partner evaluator, which means teams from India can now be evaluated by Mrs. Minal Kavishwar to further be registered with Pet Partners, which is a global leader in training, evaluation and registration of therapy animal teams. Animal Angels has always strived to bring standardization and authenticity to this field in India and this is a huge step in that direction. Mrs Kavishwar is the first and only Pet Partner evaluators from the India-Asia region Pet Partners, formerly the Delta Society, has partnered with fellow IAHAIO members to expand their Therapy Animal program internationally. Minal Kavishwar, being an IAHAIO member, through her NGO Animal Angels Foundation, was selected to be trained as an International Evaluator for Pet Partners. Minal received the training and certification as an International Evaluator at Davis, California, at the IAHAIO – ISAZ conference, held in June 2017. Minal, along with 4 other IAHAIO members, from Switzerland, Hong Kong, Romania and Colombia, were trained as International Evaluators. Minal, along with her first co-therapist, Therapy dog Kutty, has been a past registered Pet Partner and the only one from India to win the ‘Beyond Limits Award 2007’, given by Pet Partners, for their exceptional work in India. What does this means for Pet Owners in India? Pet owners from India, who wish to train themselves and their dogs for therapy work, can register with Pet Partners and at the end of their online training, will be evaluated as a team by Mrs. Kavishwar, who may pass them if they meet the Pet Partner’s criteria of selection. Animal Angels has been training and certifying therapy animal teams in India since the past 14 years. Joining hands with Pet Partners is going to create a great opportunity for pet owners who wish avail systematic training and to share the love and healing benefits of their pets. It will also give opportunity to institutes and medical centers, wanting to avail Animal Therapy visits, to opt for trained and certified teams, who follow international standards. This will help create a strong base for the expansion of the Human Animal Interactions field in India. About Pet Partners: Pet Partners, founded in 1977 as the Delta Society, is a global organization and one of the oldest ones to train and register pet owners, along with their pets to work as Therapy Animal teams all over the world. Last year alone, more than 15,000 Pet Partners teams made over three million visits to people in need in the United States. Website : Petpartners.org/International

Animal Angels, in a unique application of AAI has partnered with two NGOs, Prerna and Connecting, to provide Animal Assisted Interventions to the care providers.   Connecting NGO, Pune, provides support and awareness in the field of suicide prevention. We provide the Comfort Dog program to their Suicide Helpline counselors and volunteers, as well as those on the community outreach program. This program is a part of their self-care initiative. Therapy dog Goldie visits the center once a month to interact with the volunteers. Prerana Anti-Human Trafficking (Mumbai) Prerana is an organization that works towards helping girls who have been trafficked. Our Therapy dog Pearl visited the organization. She engaged in de-stressing activities with the staff members, lifted their spirits with her enthusiast personality. She also gave them emotional support through paws and hugs to get them through their stressful day

In a first of its kind research study in India, D Y Patil University and D Y Patil Dental Hospital, Navi Mumbai, partnered with Animal Angels Foundation, to study and document the effects of having a Therapy Dog present during dental procedures for pediatric patients. The study, conducted on a sample of 100 patients, from July to Sep 2017, show significant effect of having a therapy dog present during dental procedures on the anxiety level of pediatric patients. The study was conducted by Dr. Trushana Thakkar, a Post Graduate student of D Y Patil University , under the guidance of Dr. Shilpa Naik, along with our AAF team of Aakash Lonkar, Malvika Lobo, Therapy dog Pepe and Therapy dog Pearl. The results showed that there was a significant decrease in the anxiety levels of the pediatric patients which were given animal assisted interventions during their dental procedure than when they were not. This study is now going to presented by our founder, Mrs Minal Kavishwar, at the ISAZ (International Society of Anthrozoology) to be held in July in Sydney.

For the past three years, Mrs. Kavishwar has been conducting India’s only comprehensive course in Animal Assisted Therapy, through the Animal Angels Therapy Center, and for the past two years, thanks to a tie-up with Dr. Chandler, has made Dr. Chandler’s renowned book, “Animal Assisted Therapy in Counseling”, an official part of her course as well. Now, Mrs. Minal Kavishwar and her team at the Animal Angels Foundation have been selected by Dr. Chandler to be a part of a documentary film that she is making on five prominent people working in the field of Animal Assisted Therapy across the world. This is a great honor for the entire team and especially for Mrs. Kavishwar. With her visit to India, Dr. Candler and Minal Kavishwar would be collaborating further on creating training opportunities and providing global platform for people in India to learn Animal Assisted Therapy.  Currently Dr. Chandler offers a home study program under the University of North Texas in AAT in Counseling and Mrs. Kavishwar conducts her own course in basic and advanced training in Animal Assisted Therapy in India. Mrs. Kavishwar, as a part of her collaboration with Dr. Chandler also trains students in the practical implementation of AAT in the Indian setting and provides them internship opportunities with Animal Angels Foundation.

Dr. Cynthia Kay Chandler, a renowned Counselor and AAT (Animal Assisted Therapy) practitioner from University of North Texas, US visited India last week. Animal Angels Foundation was the official host while she was visiting India.  Dr. Chandler was visiting India to film an interview with the founder of Animal Angels Foundation, Mrs. Minal Kavishwar, a pioneer in the field of Human Animal Interaction and instrumental in introducing the field of Animal Assisted Therapy in India. Dr. Chandler was visiting India to shoot an interview as a part of her ongoing documentary on AAT practitioners around the world applying AAT in various settings.  While in India, Animal Angels Foundation had organized two workshops by Dr. Chandler for mental health professionals and students along with the heads of the institutes who have implemented AAT in India. It was an open idea sharing platform with the vision of creating an opportunity for AAT practitioners from India to share their experiences with AAT practitioners from abroad. The workshop was held at on the 14th of March 2015 at Balkalyan Sanstha, Pune (India’s one and only recreational center for children with disabilities)  and on 18th of March 2015 at Academy of Learning and Development in Andheri, Mumbai (which is a school for children with  developmental disabilities and brain related injuries, run by Arti Deo and Ajinkya Deo). The workshop was attended by heads of various special schools and institutes, students of Minal Kavishwar and Dr. Chandler from Mumbi, Pune and Bangalore and various patrons of Animal Angels Foundation including India representative of Waltham Research Center UK, Mr.Umesh Kallahalli. Dr. Chandler and Mrs. Minal Kavishwar have been associated with one another for the past twelve years. Dr. Chandler has been a mentor to Mrs. Kavishwar and has been instrumental in the growth of the Animal Angels Foundation.

Green Chimney, a residential center for children with emotional instability, set up on a farm housing various farm animals. The Green Chimney hosts a Human-Animal-Interaction(HAI) conference every year to facilitate the well-being of humans and animals in a programmatic context.  Our team from Animal Angels was the only representative from India, along with 30 other representatives from all over the world.  Attending such conferences and learning about new experiences is what makes us good and efficient with Animal Assisted Therapy(AAT).

Minal Kavishwar, Founder of Animal Angels was invited to speak at the HAI workshop conducted by National Institute of Health (NIH), USA and Waltham on ‘Settings where AAT takes place – considerations and challenges.’ Mrs. Kavishwar was the first speaker from India to speak at the NIH and present about the work Animal Angels has been doing in India.  She said, “With so many great minds sharing and discussing the future of research and practice in AAT, it was an honour to present at the NIH and privilege to be amongst the best in the field.”

Our team of therapy dogs and volunteers ran the Pune Pinkathon in aid of breast cancer awareness on 16th of November, 2014. It feels great to be associated with such an important cause and it was overwhelming to see the positive response we got. We are grateful for the love and support we got from Milind Soman, Sonali Ogale and team Pinkathon for the opportunity to spread awareness about Animal Assisted Therapy in rehabilitative set-ups.  Pinkathon is a 10 kms International Run only for women. The objective of the event is to encourage women’s health and fitness. Pinkathon also aims to raise awareness about breast cancer, its causes and prevention. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths amongst women worldwide, in spite of it being one of the curable cancers if detected early.

Second great year of participating in the 'Running Beyond Myself' Marathon, sponsored by Royal Canin and Union Bank of India.Our Therapy Dogs - Chiquita, Steffy, Oscar, Scotty and Hulk, along with the team, did the 3k walk and encouraged marathoners finishing their run, cheering them encouraging them and promoting the health benefits of walking with a pet. We were also the NGO partner for Pune Running.  Pune Running is a non-profit organization dedicated to health and fitness, we encourage, motivate and train people to take on running and in that, long distance – Marathon running. All this is done on a voluntary basis with no financial profit motive at all. All the programs are open to public.

The team of Animal Angels, along with Caregivers Link conducted a session at Schizophrenia Awareness Association(SAA). Therapy dog Scotty was the star of the even and Scotty, not just brought smiles to the caregivers and care receivers but also helped them build a positive memories that they could harness during tough times. SAA tries to create public awareness and understanding about mental disorders in general and schizophrenia in particular, to inculcate confidence in and practice of self-help amongst families afflicted with mental illnesses, to provide facilities for vocational training with an aim of economic and social rehabilitation of people afflicted with mental disorders.

'Tails of Joy'! An Animal Assisted Reading program was held for kids and adults. Participants could read out their favourite stories to our four-legged friends. Starting from 22nd August, this event was conducted every friday evening at Pagdandi - Books Chai Cafe. The event was exceptionally well received with all the participants responding ecstatically. “Tails of Joy” is our Animal Assisted Reading program to enhance literacy skills and to encourage the joys of reading through interaction with trained animals. This program intends to enrich the literacy skills of children in an effective and interesting manner. Animals are ideal reading companions because unlike peers, animals are attentive listeners; they don’t judge or criticize, so children are more comfortable and inclined to forget about their own fears. Children with low self esteem are often more willing to interact with an animal than other people. Further during such interactions, they forget their limitations. It is seen that children find reading to an animal less intimidating and transforms formerly dreaded reading events into a positive experience.

The children with special needs at the Vasant Vihar Special School in Thane had Therapy dogs Goldie and Therapy dog Sunshine, visit them every week to provide them Animal Assisted Therapy. Our therapy dogs along with our therapists worked closely with the special educator in addressing issues like hyperactivity, shyness, lack of stimulation, mobility and motor issues and need for expression in these children. Therapy dogs Goldie and  Sunshine were instrumental in bringing about remarkable changes in these children in just a matter of weeks.

A 2-hour fun filled workshop was organised in which, participants could play, pool, fetch and long walks on a cool summer evening. This event was conducted at Petsitters, Hinjewadi Pune, twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, throughout the summer.

Our team of volunteers knows the importance of sharing the joy and companionship of their pets with those in need. They visit various institutes and settings with our Therapy Dogs with the purpose of spreading joy and bringing about smiles on people’s faces. These visits come under the category of Animal Assisted Activity, which are not goal oriented or documented. We visit places like orphanages, old age homes, pediatric Cancer Centers, nursery schools, libraries etc.

 

Innovative ways of learning with pets were discovered at the Academy of Learning and Development when they had a unique therapist visit the children every week. Therapy dog Pepe, one of our senior therapy dog along with our team of therapists visited the children every week to provide them Animal Assisted Therapy. Her job at the center was to work with the children with various disabilities like CP, Autism, mental retardation and provide them sensory and mental stimulation. With such enthusiasm and motivation provided by Therapy Dog Pepe, the children who were hyperactive learned to calm down, the ones who had difficulty in walking too their first steps, the once who had flat affect actually smiled! The presence of Therapy dog Pepe had truly transformed their lives. (watch video here) The Academy of Learning and Development was established by Mr Ajinkya Deo and Mrs. Arti Deo  runs on is the belief that stimulating the brain with increased intensity, frequency and duration will help the child move towards achieving his or her fullest potential. They attempt to address the root cause of a disability (i.e. the brain injury) rather than the symptoms.

Animal Assisted Therapy fit in perfectly with this principle. With the therapy dog Pepe (Golden Retriever) being a package providing sensory and metal stimulation, the child gets to experience various sensations and also an opportunity to exercise his abilities.

  Therapy dog Sunshine, a one year old Golden Retriever and our youngest in-training therapy dog, conducted her first ever session with a special child at BalKalyan Sanstha,Pune. The child with cerebral palsy quickly bonded with Sunshine and learned to grasp a grooming brush, despite his motor issues.  Therapy dog Sunshine is a second generation therapy dog, trained and raised by team Animal Angels. She will not be working as a co-therapist with our Mumbai team.    

For the past three years, Mrs. Kavishwar has been conducting India’s only comprehensive course in Animal Assisted Therapy, through the Animal Angels Therapy Center, and for the past two years, thanks to a tie-up with Dr. Chandler, has made Dr. Chandler’s renowned book, “Animal Assisted Therapy in Counseling”, an official part of her course as well. Now, Mrs. Minal Kavishwar and her team at the Animal Angels Foundation have been selected by Dr. Chandler to be a part of a documentary film that she is making on five prominent people working in the field of Animal Assisted Therapy across the world. This is a great honor for the entire team and especially for Mrs. Kavishwar. With her visit to India, Dr. Candler and Minal Kavishwar would be collaborating further on creating training opportunities and providing global platform for people in India to learn Animal Assisted Therapy. Currently Dr. Chandler offers a home study program under the University of North Texas in AAT in Counseling and Mrs. Kavishwar conducts her own course in basic and advanced training in Animal Assisted Therapy in India. Mrs. Kavishwar, as a part of her collaboration with Dr. Chandler also trains students in the practical implementation of AAT in the Indian setting and provides them internship opportunities with Animal Angels Foundation.

Bombay Veterinary College Mumbai, hosted an event called Bravehearts, to felicitate and award prominent working dogs in Mumbai. Our team of therapy dogs Sunshine, Pepe, Coco and Goldie were felicitated by the BVC to honor the exemplary work that they do for the benefit of the society. Each therapy dog was given a medal, a memento and a goodie basket. It was a proud moment for our team and the pet parents to see our dogs being honoured.

• http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/news/a-pat-on-the-back-for-the-bravehearts/article8376831.ece
• http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Tails-of-heroism-on-stage-as-canine-stars-get-a-salute-at-vet-college-show/articleshow/51476446.cms?from=mdr

Read the blog by Goldie http://goldiecares.blogspot.in/2016/04/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html?m=1

It's always an honor when you get a chance to walk up on the TedXplatform and present your ideas to the world. Our Director, Mr Aakash Lonkar was invited to present at TedX Raigad where he presented, probably the first ever talk on Human Animal relationship at a TedX platform in India. Mr. Aakash presented on the importance of animals in dealing with lifestyle diseases. Sneha Lonkar and Therapy dog Pepe represented our team Animal Angels. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AETdMK3XzL4[/embedyt]

    Loksatta, India’s leading Marathi newspaper, hosted an initiative, where they featured various social causes for the 10 days of the Ganesha Festival and urged their readers to donate towards these causes. Animal Angels Foundation was one of the social causes featured in their article on the 19th of September 2016. Following the article we saw a massive amount of donations and words of appreciation towards our work. We thank Loksatta and its readers for showing faith in our work and donating so generously towards our initiatives. Our representative, Mr Aakash Lonkar, was felicitated and gifted a framed copy of the article, along with the donations, by well known Marathi actor, Makarand Anajpure, at an event hosted by Loksatta. Click here to read the article in Loksatta

  We at Animal Angels are happy announce our latest project with you. In a first-of-its-kind in Asia, GVK CSIA (Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai) has initiated a pilot program called “Comforting Angels”, a pet therapy program in partnership with the Pune-based Animal Angels Therapy Centre at the iconic Terminal 2 in Mumbai. These wagging “Comforting Angels” are employed to soothe, comfort and de-stress passengers inside the departure terminal.  

Animal Angels Therapy Centre, the consultation branch of Animal Angels Foundation, headed by Aakash Lonkar and Minal Kavishwar,  manages this project is proud to be associated with GVK CSIA to brings such simple joys to passengers. The program has been a success at the airport and the passengers have been extremely appreciative of this ongoing adorable experience.  

 
High stress and high anxiety are quite common for travelers. In efforts to ease that stress, airports have tried everything from gourmet coffee shops to lounges to massage rooms. But GVK Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) is trying something new.  



GVK CSIA is always making efforts to make their passengers experience at the airport seamless and comforting. Understanding that passengers bound for international travel experience anxiety, stress, loneliness sometimes coupled with exhaustion, insomnia or jet lag. Scientific studies show that petting a dog is an effective way to reduce stress and anxiety. Frazzled passengers dealing with delays, missed flights, and gate changes are given the opportunity to do just that when they encounter the “Comforting Angels” patrol.  

 
The pilot project which has been initiated by the three trained Golden Retrievers; Therapy dogs Pepe, Goldie and Sunshine, at the GVK Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) mean strict business when in contact with passengers.  Dressed in jackets that say “Pet Me”, the squad approaches passengers to be petted and cuddled. It’s hard to think of an excuse to ignore this squad of four legged adorable bundle of joy.

To mark the World Cancer day which comes on the 4th of February, Animal Angels Foundation conducted an animal assisted visiting session at Ruby Hall Cancer center for children undergoing various treatments for cancer, on 9th February, 2013. Therapy dogs Kiara and Houdini interacted with the cancer patients at Ruby Hall along with the team of therapist. We got a tremendous response from the children who, for the first time had a great reason to visit the hospital with a smile.