The Amerman Family Foundation Dog Therapy program at Children's Hospital Los Angeles recently celebrated reaching 100,000 interactions with patients, team members, and families in 2024.
The excitement was palpable across the main floor of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles: It seemed like everyone was either eagerly heading toward the celebration or just leaving it with grins still on their faces.
The dogs are here. By the dozens.
On April 10, the Amerman Family Foundation Dog Therapy Program hosted “Dog Therapy Appreciation Day” celebrating the special connection between CHLA and its therapy dog team. Inside the party, therapy dogs mingled with patients, families, and CHLA team members who were invited to take photos, collect coveted therapy dog trading cards, and color specially designed pages with dogs’ faces on them.
The Dog Therapy Program will celebrate 25 years in 2026. What started at CHLA in 2001 with just a couple of volunteers and their dogs has expanded to include around 125 dogs of all shapes, sizes, and pedigrees.
Many teams, like Bruno and his partner, Mikka, have volunteered for more than 10 years.
“Dogs aren't just a novelty here,” says Kate Buhrmaster, Director of the program. “They're partners in the much bigger goal of making this a wonderful environment for recovery.”
Dog Therapy, by the numbers
One of the most inclusive and innovative programs of its kind, the Dog Therapy Program recruits, trains, and supports therapy dogs and their human counterparts to visit a wide—and constantly expanding—variety of clinical settings. The program visits 14 inpatient areas, from the Newborn and Infant Critical Care Unit (NICCU), to rehabilitation, to oncology. Volunteers also visit 16 outpatient areas like the Infusion Center and the Emergency Department.
In 2024, the program reached a new milestone: Volunteers logged 100,000 interactions with patients, team members, and families.
More of the Dog Therapy Program’s impact, by the numbers:
- Dog teams visit from early morning to night, seven days a week, all year round.
- Teams round every inpatient unit about every 3 days.
- Teams visit roughly 1,000 patients each month.
- The program conducted 900 hours of training in 2024.
Ready for anything
The Dog Therapy program continues to explore new avenues for its skilled workforce to provide much-needed support, even beyond the hospital. In February 2025, the program conducted the first training for a new , ensuring dog therapy teams can provide meaningful support during crises, disasters, and trauma.
They trained with CHLA Clinical Psychologists, Karen Rogers, PhD, and Micah Orliss, PhD, honing essential skills in public access, transportation, and emergency response. Their hands-on training included field exercises like riding the Los Angeles Metro with emergency simulations and visiting first responders at a local Los Angeles Fire Department station.
In every setting, these highly trained canine companions aim to provide a safe and nonjudgmental source of comfort, companionship, distraction, motivation, and unconditional support for anyone in need.
If the smiles on the faces of the attendees of Dog Therapy Appreciation Day were any indication of the program’s impact, these furry volunteers and their human counterparts are delivering support at an elite level.
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