The Cuddle Club makes a visit to the Benicia Library, bringing four shelter dogs to the special outing. (Contributed Photo, Carlene Coury).
“It’s truly a win/win.”
That’s how Carlene Coury described the connections she witnesses between shelter dogs and elderly people through the Cuddle Club program.
After a year of facilitating these furry, tail-wagging interactions at nursing homes and living facilities, Coury said the program’s positives have only multiplied.
“We make hearts smile,” she said. The added bonus is that these visits bring dogs out of the shelter, and sometimes even get them adopted.
The club first took off after a staff member at Windsor Vallejo Care Center asked Coury, who is a member of the advisory board of the Humane Society of the North Bay (HSNB), whether the society offered a shelter dog visitation program.
Coury knew firsthand how beneficial this program was having seen her mother’s joyful experience with a similar program in Pittsburgh. She brought the idea to the board and soon after, the HSNB Cuddle Club was born.
“It’s a wonderful program. It’s just been amazing,” Coury said, reflecting on their first year.
The Cuddle Club currently works with six different facilities across Benicia, Vallejo and American Canyon. While they are careful not to spread the club and its volunteers too thin, Coury is always keeping an eye out for interested facilities. And with hopes of expansion comes a call for more volunteers.
Right now, the tight-knit operation is run by seven members, including Coury, who are responsible for making these excursions possible.
Ahead of these visits, they are careful to select dogs that are suitable to the crowd and size of the space. “We can’t take Cujo,” Coury joked, adding that it’s usually two smaller dogs or one bigger dog.
The club expanded its usual clientele just last month when Jennifer Baker, director of Benicia Library, asked if the dogs could pay a visit to the library. It proved to be a huge success, bringing 67 people to enjoy the cuddles of the four dogs — the most the club had ever brought.
Coury even brings her own adopted dog, Mr. Wiggles, on visits as the Cuddle Club ambassador.
“My first love is animals. I would rather be with animals than people,” she says. In addition to her work with the Humane Society, Coury’s resume includes directing plays, occasionally casting her dogs in the canine roles.
In designing their new brochure, Coury says they hope to add new volunteers and new facilities as well as increase general awareness.
To learn more about the program contact: CuddleClub@hsnb.org.
