Wherever a child is having a hard day, a Roxy dog is already on the way.

Roxy's Heartbeats is our community of monthly supporters. Your gift keeps our teams arriving where they're needed, week after week, all year long.

[ Become a Heartbeat ] From $10 a month. Change or cancel anytime.

What helps is coming back.

Children struggle with reading for all kinds of reasons. A dog gives them a listener who will never correct them or laugh, so practice stops being frightening and the skill starts to come. In Dependency Court, a child who has been removed from home waits to tell a judge what happened there, with a dog standing against her leg. At Pedia Manor, staff reposition a child so her hand can reach a dog's back.

Teams come back to the same classrooms and the same houses at Pedia Manor, week after week, year after year. And when a school loses a student, our Responders go with no notice at all. Monthly gifts cover both: the visits we promise, and the ones nobody can plan for.

There’s science behind the magic.

“The mere presence of the dogs dramatically decreases anxiety in everyone involved in Dependency Court.”
— The Honorable Robert J. Mellon

When a child pets a dog, anxiety drops, heartbeats slow, and breathing deepens. A child who feels calm and secure can learn and heal.

Researchers at Tufts studied second graders who read aloud to a therapy dog once a week for six weeks. They came away with better attitudes about reading than children in a standard program. Our handlers watch the smaller version of this every week. A dog settles his full weight against a child having the worst day of their week, and the child comes back to themselves.

What a monthly gift does.

  • $10 a month pays for a new Roxy dog to have their very own Roxy bandana/uniform

  • $25 a month helps keep a Roxy team in one classroom for a full year

  • $50 a month helps recruit and welcome a new therapy dog team.

  • $100 a month helps bring Roxy to a school or facility that has asked and is waiting.

[Donation form here. $25 preselected, flagged as most chosen.]

Prefer a different amount? Enter any amount you like.

[ Join Roxy's Heartbeats ]

Our mission has a face, and it’s usually furry.

A child doesn't wait for "a therapy dog." They wait for Buddy or Willow, the dog who sat with them last week and will be back next week. Teachers learn their names. So do the children who ask for them at the door.

You'll end up with a favorite. Most people do.

Meet The Heart of Roxy

What Heartbeats Receive

♥‍ ‍A story every month from one of our teams.

♥‍ ‍First word on Roxy news and events, plus early access to fundraising events.

♥‍ ‍A Roxy branded gift when you join.

♥‍ ‍A Roxy t-shirt (at $25 a month and up.)

  • "Over nine years of working with Roxy, I have noticed many benefits for my students. They look forward to their weekly visit with Atticus and have learned so much about empathy and caring for a pet. Another thing my students have voiced is their increased confidence to read aloud because petting Atticus eases their anxiety and allows them to grow in fluency."

    —Jennifer Regec, Fifth-Grade Teacher, Mill Creek Elementary

  • "Bringing Roxy Therapy Dogs into these sessions has had an immediate and positive impact. After just one session, students reported feeling calmer, happier, and in a better mood to face the challenges in their day."

    —Lisa V. Corr, Coordinator of Guidance Services, Central Bucks High School West

  • "Even students who feared dogs developed a love for Teddy, our Roxy therapy dog, and I noticed a true difference in their language while Teddy was present."

    —Mary Doyle, Teacher, Buckingham Elementary

  • "Every detail was thoughtfully executed. We're thrilled with the outcome."

    —Former Customer

Where your gift goes

Roxy Therapy Dogs is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3). Nobody here draws a salary, and handlers cover the cost of their own dogs.

Your gift covers:

  • Insurance

  • Recruiting and welcoming new therapy dog teams

  • Volunteer professional development and appreciation

  • Program fees and supplies

  • Community outreach and events

70+

dog/handler teams

3,200

children in schools each week comforted by Roxy dogs

10,154

volunteer hours per year

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Yes, at any time. Email [address] and we'll take care of it, usually the same day.

  • On the same day each month, starting the day you join. You'll get a receipt every time.

  • Yes. Roxy Therapy Dogs is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3). [Add EIN and any language the treasurer wants here.]

  • [Confirm whether the donation form has a tribute field before answering this. Cut the question if it doesn't.]

  • Many companies match monthly gifts. It's usually a short form through your HR portal, and it can double what you give.

  • You can also give by check, by Venmo, or by scanning our QR code. [Details.]

  • [Make a one-time gift], [volunteer with or without a dog], or [request a team] for your school or organization.

It started with one dog and one grandmother.

Our founder, Diane Smith, watched a therapy dog reach her grandmother when Alzheimer's had taken almost everything else. Her grandmother came back into the room, present and there with her.

Diane trained her Boykin Spaniel, Roxy, and in 2005 she brought her to Gayman Elementary, her son's school, where children with reading challenges read to a dog who never corrected them. The students made a banner: Reading Rocks with Roxy Reading.

Roxy was meant for one grandmother. She ended up for thousands of children.

Heartbeats are how it keeps going.

[ Become a Heartbeat ] From $10 a month. Change or cancel anytime.