Four Paws Up for our February Community Outreach Partner: Heeling House

Heeling House is one of the pioneers in the field of Animal Assisted Interactions (AAI).  Since 2013, Heeling House has been providing Animal Assisted Interactions for children with special needs in local schools, libraries, hospitals, and therapeutic centers in the Northern Virginia Area.

We are honored to once again support Heeling House as our February Community Outreach partner. We will be donating $1 from every haircut we perform in February to this one-of-a kind, local, non-profit.

At its center in Sterling, Heeling House provides a variety of programs to meet children’s needs, from infancy through high school. The Heeling House Center offers animal assisted therapy, social skills groups, social clubs for teens, occupational therapy, reading therapy, summer camps, and obedience and therapy training for dogs. We also breed, whelp, and train service dogs specializing in Psychiatric and Autism task-work. These specially trained dogs learn to recognize behaviors that could lead to self-harm and will interrupt the pattern, keeping the child safe. The dogs provide calming support, for example, leaning against the child or placing their head in the child’s lap or laying over the child. These interactions benefit not only the child but also the parent as it decreases family stress levels.

Heeling House is excited to announce that their Junior Dog Trainer Camp is back! The Heeling House Junior Dog Trainer Camp is a highly specialized program that accepts eight campers ages 9-14 years each week throughout the summer. In this unique camp, children work hands on with a professional dog trainer and spend the week training dogs in basic obedience in order to help them have a successful journey in life. Camps run Monday – Friday 9am to 4pm.