Tar Heal Paws

Tar Heal Paws is an animal therapy program at UNC Health that offers support and companionship to patients, visitors, and staff. Its purpose is to reduce stress and provide interaction with animals during hospitalization and medical intervention. Tar Heal Paws serve: Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Chatham, Youth Behavioral Hospitals, and surrounding clinics. If interested in volunteering at the Hospice Home in Pittsboro, please contact the Hospice Volunteer Coordinator for more information.

Benefits of Animal Assisted Activities

Tar Heal Paws provides patients the opportunity to safely interact with our volunteer dogs and receive their unconditional love and acceptance. Additional benefits of pet therapy:

• Positive therapeutic experiences that help minimize the stress of the hospital environment
• Reduced anxiety and enhanced coping skills by providing a welcome distraction from illness and hospitalization
• Increased normalization of the hospital experience by making it more home-like

Would My Dog Make a Good Therapy Dog?

Great Question! Is your dog comfortable with new people and environments? Is your dog calm and relaxed? Tar Heal Paws is a team effort that requires the right fit for both the human and dog. Hospitals are noisy and unpredictable, not suitable for every dog. Test your dog's reaction to places like restaurants, farms, pet stores, etc. You can also take your pup to nursing homes prior to trying out the hospital. These visits will help determine if being a Tar Heal Paw is the right choice.  Prior to volunteering, you will want to test (as much as possible) that your dog (and you!) are comfortable visiting patients in a hospital setting.  

Team Training

Tar Heal Paws teams are comprised of one volunteer and one dog. Before visiting patients independently, all teams go through shadowing and mentoring at UNC Medical Center. Although the initial training process can be intense, the rewards are tremendous.

To become a Tar Heal Paw, you need your own trained and registered therapy dog. We accept teams registered with the following pet therapy organizations: Pet Partners, Dogs With a Purpose, Love on a Leash, Canines for Service or Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD). Dogs must also have current, annual veterinarian exams and immunizations.

We also ask that you:

How to Become a Tar Heal Paw!

1. Register with a pet therapy organization from the list above. These organizations can also help you determine if you and your pup would make a good therapy team.
2. After registration, submit a Tar Heal Paws Application.  
   • We cannot process your application until you have been evaluated and registered with an approved pet therapy organization.
   • Before applying, please make sure that you are able to commit to the travel required to one of the above listed locations.  
   • And... make sure that you are ready to start volunteering within 30 days. After 90 days your application will be made inactive and you will need to redo parts of the onboarding process.
3. Check your email for an auto-reply containing details about online orientation, compliance modules, background screening, and immunization requirements. * Onboarding requirements for UNC Health Employees are different, contact jodie.skoff@unchealth.unc.edu for more information.
4. Complete the UNC Tar Heal Paws Immunization Form for your pup and send with your pet therapy registration to the address listed on the auto-reply. 
5. After completing the steps above, you and your pup will interview with the Tar Heal Paws Coordinator and discuss placement preferences and locations.
6. Volunteer dress code is a short or long sleeved white, light blue or navy polo supplied by the handler and a Tar Heal Paws bandana for your pup.
7. Start volunteering and reap benefits of helping others! We are excited to have you on our team!