Pawdiatric Partners

What our Pawdiatric Partners programme is about

The journey of a caregiver can be challenging and isolating. Through this programme, we strive to improve the mental and emotional well-being of both patients and caregivers by involving our special Caring Canines.

Who is this programme for?

This programme is designed for patients and caregivers of KKH. Individuals with the following are not allowed to participate in this programme for health and safety reasons:

• those with non-intact skin on their hands
• patients on the bone marrow transplant service
• patients under isolation precautions
• those lacking parental or guardian consent
• patients with allergies or severe fear of dogs

INPATIENTS - You are required to obtain consent from your doctor before attending this event. Please email us at [email protected] to obtain the relevant forms and information.

How can I join the session?

To ensure the welfare of our Caring Canines, they will be on duty at KKH for one hour per session. Each hour will be divided into three 20-minute slots, and participants can sign up for one slot. There are only 15 spaces available per slot.

While walk-ins are permitted, space is limited, and priority will be given to ticket holders.

Please be aware that a separate ticket is necessary for each child and caregiver, meaning two tickets are required for a caregiver-child pair.

When and where can you find our dogtors at KKH?

Venue: Women’s Tower B1 podium (near the taxi stand)

Time: 4pm - 5pm

Session dates (Tickets will be made available 1 week before the session date):

1. 19 April
2. 3 May
3. 17 May
4. 24 May
5. 7 June
6. 21 June
7. 5 July
8. 19 July
9. 2 August
10. 16 August
11. 30 August
12. 13 September

How are our dogs and handlers chosen?

Our dog handler teams have undergone a rigorous selection and training process, in line with international standards of best practices.

We pay special attention to matching beneficiaries with suitable dogs and their handlers. This may mean selecting smaller and mellower dogs for visiting with senior clients, or livelier and athletic dogs for youth clients.

Additionally, our dogs are:

• Safe, friendly, well-socialised, comfortable and confident interacting with strangers and in new environments
• Reliably toilet-trained
• Screened and approved by veterinarians to be psychologically and physically healthy, and appropriate for animal-assisted interventions
• Up to date on their vaccinations and parasite prevention treatments
• Look and smell clean, and brushed before the session to reduce dander
• Not on a raw meat diet to prevent the spread of Salmonella spp, Campylobacter spp, E. Coli spp, Listeria spp; etc
• Re-credentialed on a biennial basis for their suitability to continue animal-assisted interventions

For more information on our accreditation process, please see

Our hygiene and infection control measures

At aaisg, we take a proactive approach to managing infection risks. Therefore, the majority of our
infection control procedures stipulate measures for safeguarding the health of our handlers and
their dogs before the day of the AAI session itself.
Our hygiene and infection control protocols are updated regularly, and in compliance with
international guidelines on animals in healthcare facilities e.g. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) and The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).

These measures include:

• Washing clients’ hands with soap and water/sanitizer before and after session
  
• Ensuring all dog handlers are vaccinated against COVID-19
  

To minimise the risk of zoonoses transmission, we:

• 
  Exclude dogs on raw meat diets from our programme
  
• Discourage dogs licking beneficiaries
  
• Discourage beneficiaries from touching the noses and mouth of dogs
  
• Prevent dogs from entering toilets and food preparation areas

Individuals with the following are not allowed to participate in this programme for health and safety reasons:

• those with non-intact skin on their hands
• patients on the bone marrow transplant service
• patients under isolation precautions
• those lacking parental or guardian consent
• patients with allergies or severe fear of dogs

INPATIENTS - You are required to obtain consent from your doctor before attending this event. Please email us at [email protected] to obtain the relevant forms and information.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

KK Women's and Children's Hospital, 100 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore, Singapore