The Vier Pfoten animal welfare organization has opened on Thursday a center for animal assisted therapy which uses specially trained stray dogs. The center, located in Bucharest, is the first such facility in Europe.

“We live in a society where the perception toward stray dogs is often unjust, so we have decided to prove that humans and dogs can help each other," said project coordinator Anca Tomescu, cited by local Agerpres. "This center could become unique in Europe because it is the only center where the therapy will be done with stray dogs,” she added.

The project is entirely funded by Vier Pfoten. In this program, former stray dogs and their trainers will offer free therapy programs for children with disabilities at the Dogs for People center. Anca Tomescu estimates that some 50 children will benefit from these programs annually.

The therapy sessions will be conducted by teams made of psychotherapists, trainers, and specially trained dogs.

Through the Dogs for People program, Vier Pfoten has been offering free stray dogs assisted therapy in Romania since 2004.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com