The Santa Cruz County Psychiatric Health Facility (Telecare) is a locked acute psychiatric inpatient program that provides a safe, welcoming, recovery-focused place for adults who are experiencing a mental health emergency. This is a small unit (16 beds) and focuses on short-term situations. Weather permitting, we visit with approved clients on an enclosed patio with stone benches. We can sit quietly or move from person to person. Some dogs like to be on the benches to get pats from both sides. Typically, we see half a dozen clients. The entire staff is very supportive and interactive with team members and dogs. It’s a very comfortable visit. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old. Note that it takes a while to clear volunteers. You’ll need to pass a background check, be fingerprinted, and provide proof you have had a TB test. Telecare reimburses volunteers for any expenses incurred in the clearing process.

The Terraces is a very nice nursing home. The residents are mostly mobile. Some are in wheelchairs and others have a walker. You can visit in a group in the recreation room and visit the residents in their rooms. The rooms vary in size from one to three residents. They love animals of all sizes. The staff is very welcoming.

The Terraces of Los Gatos is a continuing care community providing everything between independent living and skilled nursing. There are 175 apartments with independent living, 59 skilled nursing beds, 55 assisted living beds, and 16 memory care beds. Furry Friends divides our time between the memory care unit and the assisted living unit. We visit one hour each month with a variety of small and large dogs though any Furry Friends animal is welcome.

The Town Park Towers is a low-income senior apartment complex. Our Furry Friends will be bringing some love and energy to the community. The visits will take place in the large open activity room or outside if the weather is nice. All kinds of animals are encouraged to visit! Volunteers must be 18.

This is a Reading Buddies team and all pets must have passed the Reading Buddies evaluation class.

Valley House Rehabilitation Center in Santa Clara is a skilled nursing facility for both long and short-term care of patients of all ages. They have been enjoying visits from therapy dogs since 2010. The team meets in the lobby and begins by visiting the day rooms and exercise areas where we see patients who are active and mobile. The team then visits patients who must remain in bed in their individual rooms. The larger pets will often sit on a chair beside the bed so a patient can reach them easily. These patients miss their own pets at home and many of them have told us how much they look forward to the Furry Friends visits. All pets of any size are welcome, including cats.

This is an indoor site in San Jose with adult clients who are brought to a large room in wheelchairs. Volunteers move from client to client. No visits occur in individual rooms. The dogs are in close proximity so dogs must get along with humans and other dogs. Any cats must be comfortable being carried or on a lap with many dogs close by. All animals must be on a leash at all times.

This is an indoor site in San Jose with children ages 1-18. A staff member escorts our team room to room. Since we go room to room, pets are in close proximity to each other. Pets should be calm and not want to play with other dogs. Small dogs are put on the beds for the child to pet, and large dogs sit in a chair beside the bed. If the dog is large enough (Mastiff, Great Dane size), the child can pet them while the dog is sitting next to the bed. We limit the visits to 4 dogs (ideally 2 large and 2 small). Most times a Furry Friends volunteer who does not bring their dog takes pictures of the kids with the dogs. We also visit with the staff, especially in PICU. Ideally, the team consists of 6 members that rotate with at least 4 going to the visit.

This is an indoor site in San Jose with adult clients who are brought to a large room in wheelchairs. Volunteers move from client to client. No visits occur in individual rooms. The dogs are in close proximity so dogs must get along with humans and other dogs. Any cats must be comfortable being carried or on a lap with many dogs close by. All animals must be on a leash at all times.

VI Palo Alto is a facility in Palo Alto, near the intersection of Sand Hill Road and Plum Lane, across from the Stanford Shopping Center. Furry Friends visits take place in three areas of the facility: Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing, and Memory Support. The team goes around as a group and spends about 20 minutes in each area. The team meets outside the entrance to the Assisted Living building, or right inside the lobby if it is raining. Parking is limited; extra parking is available across the street at Stanford Shopping Center.

Villa Sienna is a senior retirement community with a beautiful, quiet, and serene environment. It is home to senior retirees in the front building and seniors in need of assisted living located in the building in back. The front entrances of each building boast large birdhouse terrariums that stretch all the way down to the floor. Each is home to gorgeous finches that the residents enjoy due to their tranquil nature. Each building has large hallways, open seating areas, recreation rooms, cafeterias, quiet rooms and rooms for each resident. The staff consists of licensed healthcare providers who are professionally trained and are very friendly. Dogs need to be extremely calm, preferably more keen on attention to humans rather than other dogs as affection is what the residents look for. The visits are not to a specific location or structure and we roam around as many residents enjoy the pets and some residents cannot get around themselves.

This is a Reading Buddies team and all pets must have passed the Reading Buddies evaluation class.

Vista Manor Nursing Facility is a 100-bed facility in San Jose located behind Regional Medical Center (formerly Alexian Brothers Hospital). The team visits a group of 12 - 15 people in wheelchairs in a large activity room first; then we visit people in their rooms who are interested in seeing the dogs. We also visit the physical therapy room if it is being used. Dogs remain on a leash for this visit; dogs or cats of any size are welcome!!

This is a Reading Buddies team and pets must have passed the Reading Buddies evaluation class. The team meets as a group in front of the school office to sign in and then heads to the classroom. No late entries are allowed. We visit a kindergarten class so the kids are mostly age 5. The teacher has two children share or read a book with each pet. The kids then rotate to read with each animal. The teacher is one of the best I’ve ever encountered and the children absolutely LOVE our visits!

Westgate Villa is an assisted living facility that was formerly associated with Villa Fontana. The team meets in the main gathering room. Generally, the guests number about 10 to 15, but it can be more or fewer as other activities dictate. These people greatly appreciate and welcome the animals. Many of these people had to give up their own animals to move into Westgate, and the loving attention of a furry friend brings them great joy.

Westmont of Morgan Hill provides quality retirement living, assisted living and memory care. We visit in the lobby of the facility. When we have at least four members, we take two into the memory care unit for a short visit with the residents and staff there. Then we return to the lobby for the remainder of the visit.