Hospital Facility Dog Program: New Training Team Joins Shine On! Kids
Meet the new duo, Shinya Kawasaki and Sora, who have joined the Hospital Facility Dog team at Shine On! Kids, the pioneers of Japan’s first programme of its kind.
Facility Dog Training Manager Shinya graduated from the Bergin College of Canine Studies, California, in 2017 and then joined Paws for Purple Hearts, an Assistance Dogs International accredited training organization and sister organization of Bergin College. He was responsible for the training and breeding of Service Dogs and Facility Dogs.
Sora, a beautiful male Golden Retriever, is now just shy of 5 months old. He comes to Shine On! Kids from Assistance Dogs Australia, which specializes in breeding working dogs. Tommy, Miko and Mana have also come from this organization. Shine On! Kids’ latest newsletter says the name Sora (which means “sky” in Japanese) was inspired by one child’s experience on the day of her discharge after an extended hospital stay. She was awestruck by the beautiful cloudless sky that greeted her outside and it seemed completely different from the sky she had seen in her hospital room. The name Sora serves as a reminder to all children in treatment to remain hopeful for brighter days ahead.
The Hospital Facility Dog Training Project now has one manager, two trainers and five candidate dogs: Tommy and Miko since 2023, and Ori, Mana and Sora who joined this year.
But Shine On! Kids won’t stop there. It hopes to welcome more dogs and bring even more smiles to children all over Japan with the help of generous sponsors, donors and volunteers.
An Evening of Inspiration
Shine On! Kids would like to invite you to the second annual Evening of Inspiration, an intimate gala fundraiser hosted by the NPO with the generous support of sponsors KPMG-FAS and White and Case on November 1. All proceeds from the event will benefit our growing Hospital Facility Dog Program in the hope of bringing more smiles to children in hospitals all over Japan.
Program includes:
- Inspiring talks by Shine On! Kids’ program participants
- Meet and greet by Shine On! Kids’ Hospital Facility Dogs
- 4-course dinner with fine wines
- Live music by international music artist Ikuko Kawai
- Live auction, raffle and Fund-a-Need program sponsorship
Date: November 1, 2024
Time: Cocktails 6pm | Dinner 6:45pm
Venue: Tokyo American Club
Tickets: ¥350,000/table | ¥40,000/person
Dress Code: Business/Cocktail – Black Tie Optional