SIGNATURE THERAPEUTIC PROGRAMS

ANIMAL FOSTERING

What Our Students Learn from Caring for Animals

How can fostering dogs help heal my daughter?

Student participating in Greenbrier's Animal Fostering program

While attending Greenbrier Academy, your daughter will be involved in our dog fostering program. Aside from helping to provide these animals a temporary home, your daughter will experience increased trust, empathy and teamwork through caring for the animals.

As your daughter spends time caring for and training our foster dogs along with our permanent, campus dogs, it allows her a chance to practice Aspirations such as humility, compassion, respect and trust. We’ve watched many introverted, emotionally chaotic students transform under this unique stewardship in the past.

Your daughter will blossom through the responsibility and consequent returned love of the animals that she helps rescue. It’s truly amazing to behold.

The act of simply spending time with animals is known to:

∙ Reduce feelings of anxiety, depression and grief

∙ Encourage communication

∙ Decrease feelings of isolation and alienation

∙ Increase socialization and sense of community

∙ Reduce loneliness

∙ Provide comfort in times of stress

Greenbrier partners with a local canine rescue called Operation Underdog to foster up to four dogs at a time. While here, the dogs receive daily care from the students such as feeding, bathing, walking and grooming while they wait for someone to take them to their fur-ever home.

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Ever since I became the head of cat* program, I have completely fallen in love with cats. The cat program gave me the confidence to start an internship at a vet clinic back at home, and I am now considering veterinary medicine as my major for when I go to college.

Whenever I’m having a hard time, the cats make me feel needed and they give me the compassion and understanding that I need. The cat program has given me a lot of new valuable skills like time management, teaching, and managing a group of people.

-Alexis

FORMER STUDENT