Our mission
Our goal is simple - to brighten the day of the people we meet! We do that with the help of our canine team member. Many people enjoy interacting with a dog and find it relaxes them and evokes positive feelings. We know that small acts of kindness and compassion add up to help make the world better!
About us
Kindness Dogs is about being a small positive presence in people’s lives day-to-day and during extraordinary times (e.g., crisis, disaster, calamity, major disruption). Our human and dog teams are uniquely suited to work together on this mission.
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Many people find comfort from animals, including dogs. Petting and interacting with a dog can be calming, allowing people to release stress. Our dogs are trained in basic obedience and enjoy interacting with people. Our human team members have training in psychological first aid and understand when it is time to listen and to simply be present. The two have a strong bond and understand each other’s communication and needs. Our teams work from a trauma informed approach that strives to do no harm.
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At Kindness Dogs we believe the world is in need of more small acts of kindness, more positive action, and a compassionate and listening ear.
What we do
Our concept is simple: Make a small difference in peoples’ lives by being kind. Kindness can be contagious! Day to day you can find us interacting with people while out for regular walks. Petting a dog often relaxes people, even for a moment, and people are reminded that others care for them. In times of crisis, the human/dog team can form part of the ad hoc or organized psycho-social response following major emergencies or disaster.
The world is every changing, with stress and anxiety on the rise. Major events have occurred in recent years: world-wide pandemic, major earthquakes, ravaging fires, devastating flooding, economic uncertainty and war. The evening news and social media feeds are full of constant reminders of these significant and impactful events. Our collective mood is affected and many people go into protection mode. Small interactions can be affected and lack the simple positive niceties of the past; people forget to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ or hold open doors for others. Our grumpy and pessimistic mood shows itself in-person and through our online presence.
Let's each make a difference - let’s each start with small acts of kindness toward one another
Rob (human) and Tango (dog) have been impacted by these challenges times as much as the next person or pet. When out for walks Rob noticed that many people would stop and interact with Tango. These people enjoyed their short interactions petting the dog and chatting. Sometimes they would tell a bit of a story about their day or dogs from their past. Other times they might be visitors to the community and would share stories of where they are from. They almost always expressed gratitude for the experience of interacting with the dog and universally seemed to be in a more positive mood as they carried on with their day. Tango showed he enjoyed these interactions, moving in closer and showing he loved being petted. Rob also got a positive feeling from knowing people benefited from these small interactions.
We can all be a positive change. Simple small actions collectively make a big difference. We can say ‘hello’ when interacting with the store clerk, ask people how their day is going and listen actively to their response, hold the door open for the person behind us, let people merge in traffic who are signaling into our lane, say ‘thank you’ – all of these little things add up. You never know when your small act of kindness will have a profound impact on someone else’s day.
As an emergency planner by profession, Rob has seen the powerful calming effect a pet animal can have on a person suffering from stress in response to a crisis event.
Many religions around the world and many philosophies of life talk about the idea of being kind to one another. The benefits of caring for one another are clear and well understood. In the Christian faith, the teachings of the Bible talk repeatedly about loving one another. The NIV translation of the Bible offers these verses from Matthew 22: 37 - 40:
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
We believe these and other Bible passages that teach this powerful truth. We know, and respect, that many other faith teachings share similar concepts about caring about one another.
We can each live out this idea of being kind to one another. Small interactions make a huge difference in the lives of others, and in our own lives.
In 2023 Rob and Tango moved forward with the Kindness Dogs project.
Tango and Rob say hello!
Where are we?
Kindness Dogs can be found in their home community interacting with people who show interest in the dog. They can also travel to areas that are impacted by traumatic events. The Kindness Dogs team is based in western Canada. The team has interacted with people all over British Columbia, Alberta, and several countries in Europe, including Ukraine. Interactions are usually spontaneous and somewhat unpredictable. No matter where we have travelled, people randomly stop and spend time with the dog. Some stop just for a minute, while others spend considerable time interacting with the dog or talking.