SAN DIEGO — "Working Fur Kids" presents a new and compelling opportunity for members of the San Diego community to help ease the pain and suffering of children who are patients at Rady Children’s Hospital, ranked as one of the 10 best children’s hospitals in the nation by U.S. News and World Report for 2023-2024. It is our goal to raise funds, in collaboration with the public, to help Rady Children’s start a Resident Canine Therapy Program in San Diego.
Despite being at the forefront of pediatric medicine, our children’s hospital currently lacks such a program, and CBS 8 aims to bridge this gap with your help! By making a monetary donation to “Working Fur Kids” we will raise the funding needed to kickstart this essential program that will mean so much to so many.
The community benefits of creating such a program at our world-class children’s hospital are significant, as the introduction of a Resident Canine Therapy Program is expected to be a game-changer for local kids and their families.
Rady Children’s currently has a volunteer dog program that has been around for more than 30 years. This new Resident Canine Therapy Program will be a compliment to the long-standing volunteer program and add full-time, expertly trained teams of a dog and therapist bringing joy, comfort, and companionship to kids being treated at the hospital.
"Working Fur Kids" aims to help the hospital get the special dogs they need that can offer comfort, security, stability, and healing to the 300,000 young patients the hospital serves annually. We know San Diego has a deep affinity for dogs and children, together we can connect kids with man's best friend in a way that will certainly help bring a smile to the face of a child who is already going through so much.
On June 5, 2024, from 5 AM to 7 PM, CBS 8 will hold a 14-hour "Working Fur Kids" Giveathon – encouraging donations from the public to help raise the much-needed funds to hire specialized Child Life workers who live and work with specially trained dogs that will go into the hospital to help children through extremely difficult challenges.
Leading up to the event, CBS 8's reporters and anchors will be creating news stories that show how this program will benefit so many kids and families throughout our county and beyond. From in-studio interviews, guest segments, and dedicated content exploring topics like "the science behind canine therapy" and "training of therapy dogs and their handlers”, our CBS 8 News team hopes to inspire, educate, and motivate the San Diego community to donate and help build this incredible program.
Working Fur Kids is an effort to help raise funds in collaboration with the public, to start a Resident Canine Therapy Program at Rady Children’s here in San Diego. Please consider making a monetary donation to kickstart this essential program that will help ease the pain and suffering of children who are patients at Rady Children’s Hospital.
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