About Us
OUR Story
A Legacy of Helping People
Charity was my "soul doggie" and my mission is to honor her life and continue her legacy of helping people.
When I said goodbye to my beautiful yellow Labrador retriever named Charity, I felt her loss so much. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have shared my life with her for over 13 years.
She taught me lessons in unconditional loving.
She was a daily example of living life full of pure joy. She had the gift of being right there in the present moment. She provided mentorship on how success is all about service. She was a true gift of loyal friendship.
Passion for education and animals.
Being a teacher is part of who I am. As a small child my little sister was my student and I just loved to write on my blackboard and teach her. I have loved dogs my whole life. I asked Santa to bring me a dog every Christmas. My parents always wrote a letter back saying, "it was too cold in the sleigh" or "there were no dogs available this year". I finally got my first dog when I was ten years old. Happiest day of my life.
Meet
Lori Johnson
The mission to guide people through the maze of training a therapy dog is a culmination of experiences of over 38 years in education, volunteering with a variety of school board programs and dog programs, and of course the inspiration of Charity's love.
I have spent 38 years in education.
I have had experience working in the elementary and secondary panel and continue to work at Georgian College. I have a specialist in special education.
On this journey, I volunteered with COPE Service Dogs for 7 years. I instructed the Canines in the Classroom Program.
Founder of Canine Ambassador Program and Diabetes Alert Dog Program.
I am proud that the Canine Ambassador Program in Simcoe County District School Board and the Orillia Campus at Georgian College is thriving.
Volunteer work with Pet Partners.
I have had the privilege of being part of the leadership team for the AAAIP as a Subject Matter Expert to vet courses and certification for professionals. I have also completed the Animal Therapy Program course, and I am an Evaluator for Pet Partners.
Certified AAAIP Specialists
I am one of the first AAAIP Specialists in the world. Being invited to be a thought leader to support the Pet Partners AAAIP launch and start the conversations is so exciting.
Client Testimonials
"I've had the privilege of working with Lori as we provided animal assisted education programs with dogs and teens. As an educator, Lori has all the essential skills including significant knowledge and experience, kindness, and insight. In fact, Lori always connects with students at their level and in a non-judgemental way. The benefits that students receive from working with Lori are inspirational."
Wendy Hunter, Registered Psychotherapy
Creating connections that can serve a community for a lifetime.
Kate Turner - Executive Coach
“Lori was the missing piece in our journey to finding a suitable dog for our family. We have a child who has Childhood Apraxia of Speech and faces challenges daily with connecting to the world around him. Though our son can understand others, he has difficulty creating speech so is often misunderstood."
"Lori helped guide us and made it clear that a human- animal connection could provide him with the connection he longed for, without requiring something of him (articulation) that he is not able to do. She provided the information, experiences and support necessary to realize what it was we needed in a dog for our family. She considered our family, each of our needs, and connected us to the appropriate breeder and trainer, and checked in along to way offering words of support."
"Lori is passionate about what she does, and it shows through her work. It is clear she has witnessed, firsthand, the value of dogs in families who have been faced with extra obstacles. She is confident and professional while remaining unbiased and non-judgmental. We can not thank her enough for what she has done for our child, our family, and the many others she has helped connect to dogs and the world around them.“
Alex McDonald - Mother
Tiffany is currently training her dog Diago to be a therapy dog to work in her school. She is full of passion and loves all that she does to support her students.
Tiffany Schevchik - MA, CCLS Animal Assisted Interventions Coordinator The Calais School
