Sharon Herman gets a visitor every Friday at Rhoda Goldman Plaza, the assisted living center in San Francisco that she calls home. It’s a visitor that holds a special place in the senior’s heart.
“It really is the highlight that I wait for,” said Herman, who is 87. “I love Malua.”
Malua is an 8-year-old golden retriever. She and her owner, DJ Freyman, are part of the Jewish Family and Children’s Services Canine Corps, which brings well-trained and well-behaved dogs with their owners to visit seniors and other adults, to offer comfort and companionship.
“Many of the seniors we serve either had pets in the past, or love animals but can no longer care for one themselves,” said Dorit Israel, who runs the program as part of her role as Marin regional director for volunteer services.
JFCS was recently recruiting a new group of 10 dogs and volunteer owners, but it received so many responses that it has stopped accepting applications until later this year.
Although all dogs are already “perfect,” Israel said, the volunteer corps does have a few requirements for both canines and humans.
“There is a dog application, and then there is a volunteer application,” said Israel, who meets with each potential pair.
Dogs must have the right temperament, she explained. And volunteers must have the right availability. If that hurdle is passed, professional dog trainers assess each dog and then 10 are chosen to go through a training course to get the American Kennel Club’s “Good Citizenship” certificate, which tests them on skills like accepting a friendly stranger’s overtures and “sitting politely.” Dogs have to be at least 1½ years old to apply for the JFCS program, have received all vaccines and had some obedience training.
After the certification, Israel matches the volunteers with a client. She also supervises the first visit just to make sure everything is OK.
“I want to see if there is a shidduch, if it’s a good match,” she said.
For Herman, that’s not a problem.
“Malua is the most sweet, loving dog. She has a heart,” Herman said, adding that when the dog enters the senior center, “she knows what she’s there for, and she feels it.”
JFCS founded its Canine Corps in 2008. The Covid pandemic put the program on hiatus, and the most recruitment round is only the second since then, Israel said.
Freyman, Malua’s owner, said she heard about the program last year and thought her pet would be an “ideal” candidate.
“She is amazing at sensing when humans are happy, and bringing this out in people,” Freyman said in an email to J.
Freyman and Malua have been visiting Herman since August. Freyman called it the highlight of each week for “all three of us.”
“For anyone thinking about volunteering with their dog, I say go for it,” she said. “Giving back to the JFCS community has brought me and Malua so much joy and connection.”
For more information about joining the Canine Corps, visit jfcs.org/volunteer/canine-corps.