HR4RS stamp
Nora Fernandez Fernandez
The Animal and Society Chair of the URJC, in collaboration with Perruneando Madrid and the Department of Animal Welfare of the Parla City Council, have started the project 'Lending a paw' in its version “for ConcienciARTE”.
This is a dog-assisted social intervention program that arises from the need to improve emotional education, empathy and respect for the natural environment in which we live and for the rest of the living beings with whom we cohabit.
In this way, the project will consist of a group activity in which, through 4 sessions of 60 minutes, assisted art with dogs will be promoted. Specifically, it will be carried out through a pot decoration workshop, which will be put on sale during the month of April at the Parla City Council adoption fair. The purpose is to bet on the promotion of the adoption of dogs and cats by donating everything collected to the protective associations of the municipality.
"Through this project of Assisted Social Intervention with Dogs, we help people in vulnerable situations to create that unique climate that art and creativity offer us, accompanied by our intervention dogs", says Nuria Máximo, director of the Chair of Animals and Society The main objective is to "debate and reflect in a group on animal welfare and responsible coexistence, delving into the cognitive, social, physical or emotional dimensions every day to improve the emotional and physical well-being of the dogs that accompany the team and understand their way of relating. In addition, we want to provide users of the program with a greater knowledge of the canine species as beings who feel and think, and we motivate them to be disseminating agents for the necessary change in society towards these animals, ”adds Máximo.
For his part, the Councilor for Animal Welfare of Parla, José Manuel Del Cerro, stresses that "through this program, we try to continue reaching different sectors of the population, since, in the last edition, we started the project with young in a situation of social difficulty and the evaluation of the different work groups was so overwhelming and magnificent by the participants that we decided to continue with it and expand the areas of intervention”. In addition, Del Cerro wanted to highlight that "without a doubt, this project is one more piece within the line of work of the Department of Animal Welfare of the Parla City Council, which has been working for more than 3 years to create a more respectful and conscientious city with animal welfare.
Finally, it should be noted that the new participation group of 'Echando una Pata' belongs to the Fundación Manantial de Parla center, which since 1995 has pursued the goal of improving social and health care for people with mental health problems, in collaboration with the Department of Animal Welfare of the municipality.