Animals for Comfort and Well-Being 

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2022 

6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Meet Don Finlayson and Bentley, Vicki Bruce and Dixie, and Bob Darlington from St. John Ambulance and his furry friend as we discuss how animals play such a crucial role in our mental health and well-being. 

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Bob Darlington, Coordinator, Therapy Dog Program, York Region

Bob has been in the Therapy Dog Program for 20 years. His first ten years he spent as a Therapy Dog handler where he visited weekly with his dog (Cara) at Cedarvale Lodge. Cara considered herself the official welcoming committee since any new residents she was sure to go and introduce herself. The residents knew her name but most did not know Bob’s. After Cara retired at the age of 14 Bob continued as a Coordinator for one unit of the Therapy Dog Program and soon inherited all of the units within York Region.

Bob is a member of the Order of St. John. He is a member of the Therapy Dog Recovery Committee which worked tirelessly across the province to try to keep Therapy Dog handlers motivated and engaged during the pandemic outage. He also produced a weekly Therapy Dog newsletter which was distributed to the Therapy Dog units across the province for sharing with the facilities and other groups where the teams visited before we were forced to stop because of the pandemic.