BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — We all know how much a cute fury pet can brighten up someone’s day. Now there is a non-profit organization in Brooksville that’s asking pet owners to volunteer their time and their dog to cheer up neighbors in the community.
What started off with six dogs in 2018, has grown to 45. Caring K9s has become a fixture in the Brooksville community, visiting more than 70 locations in need of a waging tail and a fury face.
“A lot of the places we work with are nursing homes, hospitals, we also work with developmentally disabled and even with children at a lot of the schools,” said founder DJ Gwilt.
Watch ABC Action News reporter Robert Boyd's full report on Caring K9s in Brooksville:
Gwilt started the non-profit because she knew how much her dogs meant to her, so she thought, why not share that connection with others.
“I knew my dog could give love and I wanted to give back to the community,” said Gwilt. “People that we work with, they are so happy that we come, they are so thankful that we come, and they love petting the dogs, and for a lot of the people it’s the only dog they get to pet that week or that month depending on how often we visit.”
It didn’t take long for fellow community members, like Marina Surette and her dog Ruben, to join DJ’s mission.
“He is just such an awesome dog,” said Surette. “He does tricks, he likes to entertain people, and people just love him, so it makes me feel really, really good about the relationship we have and the relationship we have now with the community.”
“A lot of times when a member joins we find out from the member and the dog exactly where they are wanting to work in the community and also it depends on the dog’s personality, are they better with children or better with elderly,” said Gwilt.
It’s on the second floor of the Enrichment Center where you’ll find DJ personally training each and every volunteer and canine to make sure they are properly certified for all types of people and situations.
“We want to make sure the wheelchair is locked so it doesn’t go rolling backward when our dog leans in,” said DJ during a class that prepares the dogs for seniors in wheelchairs.
For dogs like Cinderella, it’s a full circle experience. She was a rescue overcoming trauma, and now she’s the one providing therapy for others.
“I introduce these dogs to kids that deal with a lot of trauma, kids that are not excelling, and these dogs have motivated and inspired and just empowered these children to do better,” said owner Michelle Barnes.
Caring K9s says they’ve become so popular there is even a waiting list of people and organizations anxious for a visit.
"We are growing so fast and so big that we are trying to fundraise now for a building of our own because we need a bigger training area that we can do a lot more classes and certify a lot more dogs so we can continue to spread that love,” said Gwilt.
For more information, go here.
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