{"id":12245712,"date":"2025-12-24T05:00:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T13:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/?p=12245712"},"modified":"2025-12-24T07:06:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T15:06:13","slug":"wish-book-furry-friends-brings-fuzzy-love-to-kids-seniors-patients-families-veterans-inmates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/24\/wish-book-furry-friends-brings-fuzzy-love-to-kids-seniors-patients-families-veterans-inmates\/","title":{"rendered":"Wish Book: Furry Friends brings fuzzy love to kids, seniors, patients, families, veterans, inmates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wishbook.mercurynews.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-article_inline_third lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wishbooklogo2025.webp?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1\" sizes=\"513px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wishbooklogo2025.webp?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wishbooklogo2025.webp?fit=210%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 210w\" alt=\"\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wishbooklogo2025.webp?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1\" data-attachment-id=\"12319893\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wishbooklogo2025.webp?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wishbooklogo2025.webp?fit=210%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 210w\" \/><\/a>Inside the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gerry Gregg, wearing an A&#8217;s baseball cap and a U.S. Marine Corps shirt, leans down to give rubs and scratches to Murphy, a fluffy golden retriever who is part of a pet-therapy team from San Jose nonprofit <a href=\"https:\/\/furryfriends.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Furry Friends<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;How are you doing?&#8221; Gregg, 60, croons to Murphy, who looks adoringly into his eyes. &#8220;Yeah, I know,&#8221; Gregg tells the dog.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related left\"><h2 class=\"widget-title\" data-curated-ids=\"\" data-relation-type=\"automatic-primary-tag\">Related Articles<\/h2><ul><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/25\/wish-book-nonprofit-helps-families-endure-the-impossible-when-their-child-has-cancer\/\" title=\"Wish Book: Nonprofit helps families endure the impossible when their child has cancer\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title free\">\n\t\t\tSouth Bay nonprofit helps families endure the impossible when their child has cancer\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/21\/gilroy-hunger-homelessness-housing-wish-book-south-county-community-services\/\" title=\"Wish Book: South County Community Services helps those in need move from homelessness and hunger to hope\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title free\">\n\t\t\tSouth County Community Services helps those in need move from homelessness and hunger to hope\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/18\/wish-book-for-this-nonprofit-helping-adults-with-disabilities-getting-a-new-set-of-wheels-is-a-big-deal\/\" title=\"Wish Book: For this nonprofit helping adults with disabilities, getting a new set of wheels is a big deal\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title free\">\n\t\t\tFor this South Bay nonprofit helping adults with disabilities, getting a new set of wheels is a big deal\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/16\/bay-area-clinic-reduces-health-disparities\/\" title=\"Wish Book: Bay Area health clinic reduces health disparities through free services\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title free\">\n\t\t\tWish Book: Bay Area health clinic reduces health disparities through free services\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2025\/12\/15\/wishbook-a-place-for-seniors-to-make-friends-and-stay-active\/\" title=\"Wish Book: A place for seniors to make friends and stay active &#8212; with a little help from a robot\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title free\">\n\t\t\tA place for South Bay seniors to make friends and stay active &#8212; with a little help from a robot\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><\/ul><\/aside>\n<p>Gregg came to the VA for a month-long course in navigating life with limited vision. Murphy, and a small pack of other pooches from Furry Friends, came as they do every Monday to bring unconditional love.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve had dogs all my life, up until I lost my sight,&#8221; says Gregg, a Marines veteran and retired floral designer.<\/p>\n<p>Facilitating temporary but meaningful contacts between human and beast is central to the mission of Furry Friends\u00a0Pet Assisted Therapy Services. &#8220;It&#8217;s something really special that can&#8217;t be replicated through human therapy,&#8221; says Furry Friends volunteer and vice-president Grace Chung. &#8220;There&#8217;s this unspoken language, and animals don&#8217;t judge.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12302790\"  class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1\" sizes=\"513px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" alt=\"Murphy, a 5-year-old Golden Retriever, is pet while he holds his leash in his mouth as part of Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\" width=\"4800\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1\" data-attachment-id=\"12302790\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Murphy, a 5-year-old Golden Retriever, is pet while he holds his leash in his mouth as part of Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Just the tactile pleasure of touching a pet eases stress and boosts mood, says Lindsay Conner, a recreational therapist at the VA. Contact with visiting animals often strikes deep chords in patients, Conner adds.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It connects them to nostalgic memories,&#8221; she says, &#8220;happy childhood memories of owning pets.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The dogs from Furry Friends appear to understand which patients require their services most, Conner says. &#8220;You&#8217;ll see the dogs moving towards different people,&#8221; she says. &#8220;The dogs have this innate sense of who needs that extra love and support.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Furry Friends, established in 1983, has more than 300 volunteers who bring the magic of fuzzy &#8212; and occasionally feathered or scaly &#8212; critters to more than 150 nursing homes, retirement facilities, memory care units, hospitals, schools, libraries, family shelters and even jails in Santa Clara, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, spreading love and a sense of well-being to some 15,000 people every year.<\/p>\n<p>A registered charity, Furry Friends is seeking a Wish Book grant to expand its programming, enhance volunteer training, and conduct outreach to vulnerable populations including seniors, young people with mental health challenges, and veterans with PTSD.<\/p>\n<p>The group&#8217;s motto? &#8220;We lick loneliness.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>At hospitals, care facilities and other sites where people can experience isolation, visits from animals and volunteers provide therapeutic opportunities for conversation.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s kind of a nice, social thing, talking with each other, talking with the people who bring the dogs,&#8221; says U.S. Army veteran Albert Vargas, 61, a former Green Beret medic from Elk Grove who lost his sight in 2017 from a genetic disorder, and was spending six weeks at the Palo Alto VA.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the volunteers&#8217; pets are dogs, but some have cats, one has a miniature horse, and in the past, chickens and a snake have provided pet-therapy services with Furry Friends, despite a lack of fur.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-slideshow\" id=\"mng-gallery-30c1178ac9285c2dfe690b30842a2093\"><button class=\"icon-close mng-gallery-fullscreen-close\" aria-label=\"Close fullscreen slideshow\"><\/button><ul class=\"mng-gallery-initialized mng-gallery-slider\"><button id=\"mng-gallery-prev\" class=\"mng-gallery-prev mng-gallery-arrow\" aria-label=\"Previous\" type=\"button\"><\/button><div class=\"mng-gallery-list draggable\"><div class=\"mng-gallery-track\"><li data-index=\"1\" class=\"mng-ge mng-gallery-active\" id=\"mng-ge-0\" aria-hidden=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"image-wrapper\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"People stop pet dogs participating in the Furry Friends Pet...\" class=\"size-article_inline\" sizes=\"(max-width: 40em) 620px,(min-width: 40em) and (max-width: 50em) 780px,(min-width: 50em) and (max-width: 65em) 810px,(min-width: 65em) and (max-width: 80em) 1280px,(min-width: 80em) 1860px,1860px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-3.jpg?w=620 620w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-3.jpg?w=780 780w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-3.jpg?w=810 810w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-3.jpg?w=1280 1280w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-3.jpg?w=1860 1860w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-3.jpg\"><div class=\"slide-credit\"><\/div><div class=\"slide-caption\">People stop pet dogs participating in the Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/div><\/div><\/li><li data-index=\"2\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><div class=\"image-wrapper\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Gerry Gregg, Marine veteran from Sacramento, pets Sophie O\u00e2\u0080\u0099doodle, the...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?w=620\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?w=620 620w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?w=780 780w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?w=810 810w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?w=1280 1280w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?w=1860 1860w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg\"><div class=\"slide-credit\"><\/div><div class=\"slide-caption\">Gerry Gregg, Marine veteran from Sacramento, pets Sophie O\u2019doodle, the 8-year-old doodle, next to her handler Claire Rhodes, San Jose, during a Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy session at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/div><\/div><\/li><li data-index=\"3\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><div class=\"image-wrapper\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Gerry Gregg, Marine veteran from Sacramento, pets Sophie O\u00e2\u0080\u0099doodle, the...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-8.jpg?w=620\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-8.jpg?w=620 620w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-8.jpg?w=780 780w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-8.jpg?w=810 810w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-8.jpg?w=1280 1280w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-8.jpg?w=1860 1860w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-8.jpg\"><div class=\"slide-credit\"><\/div><div class=\"slide-caption\">Gerry Gregg, Marine veteran from Sacramento, pets Sophie O\u2019doodle, the 8-year-old doodle, next to her handler Claire Rhodes, San Jose, during a Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy session at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/div><\/div><\/li><li data-index=\"4\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><div class=\"image-wrapper\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Murphy, a 5-year-old Golden Retriever, is pet while he holds...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?w=620\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?w=620 620w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?w=780 780w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?w=810 810w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?w=1280 1280w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg?w=1860 1860w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-4.jpg\"><div class=\"slide-credit\"><\/div><div class=\"slide-caption\">Murphy, a 5-year-old Golden Retriever, is pet while he holds his leash in his mouth as part of Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/div><\/div><\/li><li data-index=\"5\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-4\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><div class=\"image-wrapper\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Children read to Oberon, a 14-year-old mix who volunteers with...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SJM-L-EARLYLIT-7.jpg?w=620\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SJM-L-EARLYLIT-7.jpg?w=620 620w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SJM-L-EARLYLIT-7.jpg?w=780 780w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SJM-L-EARLYLIT-7.jpg?w=810 810w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SJM-L-EARLYLIT-7.jpg?w=1280 1280w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SJM-L-EARLYLIT-7.jpg?w=1860 1860w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SJM-L-EARLYLIT-7.jpg\"><div class=\"slide-credit\"><\/div><div class=\"slide-caption\">Children read to Oberon, a 14-year-old mix who volunteers with Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy Services, at San Jose Public Library Hillview in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/div><\/div><\/li><li data-index=\"6\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><div class=\"image-wrapper\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Children read to Oberon, a 14-year-old mix who volunteers with...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SJM-L-EARLYLIT-5.jpg?w=620\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SJM-L-EARLYLIT-5.jpg?w=620 620w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SJM-L-EARLYLIT-5.jpg?w=780 780w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SJM-L-EARLYLIT-5.jpg?w=810 810w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SJM-L-EARLYLIT-5.jpg?w=1280 1280w,https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SJM-L-EARLYLIT-5.jpg?w=1860 1860w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SJM-L-EARLYLIT-5.jpg\"><div class=\"slide-credit\"><\/div><div class=\"slide-caption\">Children read to Oberon, a 14-year-old mix who volunteers with Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy Services, at San Jose Public Library Hillview in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/div><\/div><\/li><\/div><\/div><button id=\"mng-gallery-next\" class=\"mng-gallery-next mng-gallery-arrow\" aria-label=\"Next\" type=\"button\"><\/button><\/ul><div class=\"caption mng-gallery-information-container\"><button class=\"caption-expand mng-gallery-caption-expand\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-label=\"Show caption\">Show Caption<\/button><div class=\"slideshow-credit mng-gallery-image-credit\"><\/div><div class=\"slide-count\"><span class=\"current mng-gallery-current-image-number-display\">1<\/span> of <span class=\"total\">6<\/span><\/div><div class=\"slideshow-caption mng-gallery-image-caption\">People stop pet dogs participating in the Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/div><a href=\"#\" class=\"icon-enlarge mng-gallery-fullscreen-expand\" aria-label=\"Expand fullscreen slideshow\"><span>Expand<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Chung has rabbits, including Junie, a mini rex, the softest breed of rabbit, whose pillowy, ultra-silky fur draws exclamations of amazed delight from those who touch her. Chung grew up in Saratoga with a veritable menagerie: dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, parakeets &#8212; even hawks and falcons.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Animals have been my biggest passion since I was little,&#8221; says Chung, who brings Juni and rex rabbit Bambi for her work with Furry Friends. &#8220;People are sometimes scared of dogs so I wanted to help people experience animal therapy even if they&#8217;re not dog people.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Chung focuses her work on residential mental-health units for children, where she puts her two bunnies in a basket that kids pass around. She teaches rabbit facts, including that the animals, when happy, make a grinding noise with their teeth that&#8217;s the equivalent of purring in cats. &#8220;They&#8217;re like, &#8216;Oh my god, this animal loves me, I&#8217;m doing something right!'&#8221; Chung says. &#8220;The rabbits really bring joy to these children, especially as they&#8217;re going through very difficult times. The animals can be a good reminder of how good life can be, and it really gives them hope.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The first time Furry Friends visited the Santa Clara County jail, in 2023, the group&#8217;s vice-president Anne Tiry and two volunteers had Tiry&#8217;s golden retriever Hero, along with Hennessey, a diminutive Pomeranian mix, and Bailee, a white Great Dane the size of a small horse.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the inmates were reluctant to interact with the animals, because of previous experiences with police canines, and &#8220;they were afraid the dogs were there to sniff out contraband,&#8221; Tiry said. The guards reassured the men, Tiry said, that &#8220;the dogs were there to give snuggles.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>When the group approached one incarcerated man, he told them, &#8220;I haven&#8217;t touched a dog for 13 years.&#8221; Then he did, and a smile spread across his face.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The jail visits are my favorite,&#8221; Tiry says. &#8220;The inmates appreciate it so much. It is so nice to bring a touch of normalcy to them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In the post-traumatic stress disorder ward at the Palo Alto VA, a veteran caught sight of Kiki, a 9-year-old German shepherd mix rescued with burned paws from 2020&#8217;s North Complex Fire in Butte County, and shouted, &#8220;a German shepherd!&#8221; recalls Kiki&#8217;s owner, Furry Friends volunteer Tami Primeau.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12303036\"  class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1\" sizes=\"513px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" alt=\"Gerry Gregg, Marine veteran from Sacramento, pets Sophie O'doodle, the 8-year-old doodle, next to her handler Claire Rhodes, San Jose, during a Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy session at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\" width=\"4800\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1\" data-attachment-id=\"12303036\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-9.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gerry Gregg, Marine veteran from Sacramento, pets Sophie O\u2019doodle, the 8-year-old doodle, next to her handler Claire Rhodes, San Jose, during a Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy session at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;He comes sliding in and he just started loving on her for a half hour,&#8221; says Primeau, of Fremont. &#8220;He started telling us about Afghanistan.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It turned out that Kiki reminded the traumatized veteran of a military-service German shepherd named Gunner who during a foot patrol alerted him to a buried improvised bomb, and blocked his path, just before he would have stepped on it. &#8220;Gunner saved his life,&#8221; Primeau said.<\/p>\n<p>Furry Friends volunteers and their pets are carefully screened, and must pass muster as a team after taking a class led by a professional animal behaviorist.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We want people who are enthusiastic and open-minded,&#8221; Chung says. &#8220;We want people who have a great relationship with their pets. I don&#8217;t think you could do this without having a strong bond with your animals, just working towards the mission together. We want well-trained, calm, docile animals. They need to be very tolerant. They need to get along with other animals because we have multiple volunteers on site. Dogs and other animals who really like people, that&#8217;s really who we want to see.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>At libraries and schools, in Furry Friends&#8217; Reading Buddies program, children read one-on-one to animals, to build confidence and a love for reading &#8212; with no pressure.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If there&#8217;s stuttering, or there&#8217;s trouble over words, it doesn&#8217;t matter,&#8221; says Patty Holaday of Santa Clara, who volunteers with Mia, her 9-year-old golden retriever. &#8220;Mia doesn&#8217;t care.&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wishbook.mercurynews.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-article_inline_third lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wishbooklogo2025.webp?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1\" sizes=\"145px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wishbooklogo2025.webp?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wishbooklogo2025.webp?fit=210%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 210w\" alt=\"\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wishbooklogo2025.webp?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1\" data-attachment-id=\"12319893\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wishbooklogo2025.webp?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wishbooklogo2025.webp?fit=210%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 210w\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>ABOUT WISH BOOK<\/strong><br \/>\nWish Book is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operated by The Mercury News. Since 1983, Wish Book has been producing series of stories during the holiday season that highlight the wishes of those in need and invite readers to help fulfill them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>WISH<\/strong><br \/>\nDonations to <a href=\"https:\/\/furryfriends.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy Services<\/a> will help the nonprofit expand access to therapy animal visits across schools, hospitals, senior care homes, jails, libraries and shelters all around the South Bay. <strong>Goal: $20,000<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>HOW TO GIVE<\/strong><br \/>\nDonate at <a href=\"https:\/\/wishbook.mercurynews.com\/donate\/\">wishbook.mercurynews.com\/donate <\/a>or mail in <a href=\"https:\/\/wishbook.mercurynews.com\/donation-form\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this form<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ONLINE EXTRA<\/strong><br \/>\nRead other Wish Book stories, view photos and video at <a href=\"https:\/\/wishbook.mercurynews.com\/\">wishbook.mercurynews.com.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Facilitating meaningful contacts between human and beast is central to the mission of Furry Friends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":418,"featured_media":12303035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"subheadline":"Dogs, cats, rabbits lick loneliness","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13645,172,13794,160,187,27655],"tags":[35239,27340,360,361,25054,14424,574,25916,13388,13396,435,14762,22724,14818,660,13389,691,35432],"feature":[],"location":[3,2,113,114,102,7],"type-of-work":[24457],"coauthors":[997],"class_list":["post-12245712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-headlines","category-lifestyle","category-local-news","category-news","category-pets-animals","category-things-to-do","tag-aging","tag-all-readers","tag-animal-life","tag-animals","tag-editors-picks","tag-health-care","tag-healthy-living","tag-mental-health","tag-military","tag-nonprofits","tag-pets","tag-photos-and-videos","tag-pm-report","tag-regional","tag-seniors","tag-veterans","tag-wish-book","tag-wish-book-2025","location-bay-area","location-california","location-palo-alto","location-san-jose","location-santa-clara-county","location-south-bay","type-of-work-news"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"13794","primary_tag":35432,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy Services","print_title":"Wish Book: Furry Friends brings fuzzy love to kids, seniors, patients, families, veterans, inmates","print_subheadline":"Dogs, cats, rabbits lick loneliness","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"","print_slug":"SJM-L-WBFURRY-1224","print_content":"<p>Inside the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gerry Gregg, wearing an A's baseball cap and a U.S. Marine Corps shirt, leans down to give rubs and scratches to Murphy, a fluffy golden retriever who is part of a pet-therapy team from San Jose nonprofit Furry Friends.<\/p>\n<p>\"How are you doing?\" Gregg, 60, croons to Murphy, who looks adoringly into his eyes. \"Yeah, I know,\" Gregg tells the dog.<\/p>\n<p>Gregg came to the VA for a month-long course in navigating life with limited vision. Murphy, and a small pack of other pooches from Furry Friends, came as they do every Monday to bring unconditional love.<\/p>\n<p>\"I've had dogs all my life, up until I lost my sight,\" says Gregg, a Marines veteran and retired floral designer.<\/p>\n<p>Facilitating temporary but meaningful contacts between human and beast is central to the mission of Furry Friends\u00a0Pet Assisted Therapy Services. \"It's something really special that can't be replicated through human therapy,\" says Furry Friends volunteer and vice-president Grace Chung. \"There's this unspoken language, and animals don't judge.\"<\/p>\n<p>Just the tactile pleasure of touching a pet eases stress and boosts mood, says Lindsay Conner, a recreational therapist at the VA. Contact with visiting animals often strikes deep chords in patients, Conner adds.<\/p>\n<p>\"It connects them to nostalgic memories,\" she says, \"happy childhood memories of owning pets.\"<\/p>\n<p>The dogs from Furry Friends appear to understand which patients require their services most, Conner says. \"You'll see the dogs moving towards different people,\" she says. \"The dogs have this innate sense of who needs that extra love and support.\"<\/p>\n<p>Furry Friends, established in 1983, has more than 300 volunteers who bring the magic of fuzzy -- and occasionally feathered or scaly -- critters to more than 150 nursing homes, retirement facilities, memory care units, hospitals, schools, libraries, family shelters and even jails in Santa Clara, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, spreading love and a sense of well-being to some 15,000 people every year.<\/p>\n<p>A registered charity, Furry Friends is seeking a Wish Book grant to expand its programming, enhance volunteer training, and conduct outreach to vulnerable populations including seniors, young people with mental health challenges, and veterans with PTSD.<\/p>\n<p>The group's motto? \"We lick loneliness.\"<\/p>\n<p>At hospitals, care facilities and other sites where people can experience isolation, visits from animals and volunteers provide therapeutic opportunities for conversation.<\/p>\n<p>\"It's kind of a nice, social thing, talking with each other, talking with the people who bring the dogs,\" says U.S. Army veteran Albert Vargas, 61, a former Green Beret medic from Elk Grove who lost his sight in 2017 from a genetic disorder, and was spending six weeks at the Palo Alto VA.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the volunteers' pets are dogs, but some have cats, one has a miniature horse, and in the past, chickens and a snake have provided pet-therapy services with Furry Friends, despite a lack of fur.<\/p>\n<p>Chung has rabbits, including Junie, a mini rex, the softest breed of rabbit, whose pillowy, ultra-silky fur draws exclamations of amazed delight from those who touch her. Chung grew up in Saratoga with a veritable menagerie: dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, parakeets -- even hawks and falcons.<\/p>\n<p>\"Animals have been my biggest passion since I was little,\" says Chung, who brings Juni and rex rabbit Bambi for her work with Furry Friends. \"People are sometimes scared of dogs so I wanted to help people experience animal therapy even if they're not dog people.\"<\/p>\n<p>Chung focuses her work on residential mental-health units for children, where she puts her two bunnies in a basket that kids pass around. She teaches rabbit facts, including that the animals, when happy, make a grinding noise with their teeth that's the equivalent of purring in cats. \"They're like, 'Oh my god, this animal loves me, I'm doing something right!'\" Chung says. \"The rabbits really bring joy to these children, especially as they're going through very difficult times. The animals can be a good reminder of how good life can be, and it really gives them hope.\"<\/p>\n<p>The first time Furry Friends visited the Santa Clara County jail, in 2023, the group's vice-president Anne Tiry and two volunteers had Tiry's golden retriever Hero, along with Hennessey, a diminutive Pomeranian mix, and Bailee, a white Great Dane the size of a small horse.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the inmates were reluctant to interact with the animals, because of previous experiences with police canines, and \"they were afraid the dogs were there to sniff out contraband,\" Tiry said. The guards reassured the men, Tiry said, that \"the dogs were there to give snuggles.\"<\/p>\n<p>When the group approached one incarcerated man, he told them, \"I haven't touched a dog for 13 years.\" Then he did, and a smile spread across his face.<\/p>\n<p>\"The jail visits are my favorite,\" Tiry says. \"The inmates appreciate it so much. It is so nice to bring a touch of normalcy to them.\"<\/p>\n<p>In the post-traumatic stress disorder ward at the Palo Alto VA, a veteran caught sight of Kiki, a 9-year-old German shepherd mix rescued with burned paws from 2020's North Complex Fire in Butte County, and shouted, \"a German shepherd!\" recalls Kiki's owner, Furry Friends volunteer Tami Primeau.<\/p>\n<p>\"He comes sliding in and he just started loving on her for a half hour,\" says Primeau, of Fremont. \"He started telling us about Afghanistan.\"<\/p>\n<p>It turned out that Kiki reminded the traumatized veteran of a military-service German shepherd named Gunner who during a foot patrol alerted him to a buried improvised bomb, and blocked his path, just before he would have stepped on it. \"Gunner saved his life,\" Primeau said.<\/p>\n<p>Furry Friends volunteers and their pets are carefully screened, and must pass muster as a team after taking a class led by a professional animal behaviorist.<\/p>\n<p>\"We want people who are enthusiastic and open-minded,\" Chung says. \"We want people who have a great relationship with their pets. I don't think you could do this without having a strong bond with your animals, just working towards the mission together. We want well-trained, calm, docile animals. They need to be very tolerant. They need to get along with other animals because we have multiple volunteers on site. Dogs and other animals who really like people, that's really who we want to see.\"<\/p>\n<p>At libraries and schools, in Furry Friends' Reading Buddies program, children read one-on-one to animals, to build confidence and a love for reading -- with no pressure.<\/p>\n<p>\"If there's stuttering, or there's trouble over words, it doesn't matter,\" says Patty Holaday of Santa Clara, who volunteers with Mia, her 9-year-old golden retriever. \"Mia doesn't care.\"<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>ABOUT WISH BOOK<br \/>Wish Book is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operated by The Mercury News. Since 1983, Wish Book has been producing series of stories during the holiday season that highlight the wishes of those in need and invite readers to help fulfill them.<\/p>\n<p>WISH<br \/>Donations to Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy Services will help the nonprofit expand access to therapy animal visits across schools, hospitals, senior care homes, jails, libraries and shelters all around the South Bay. Goal: $20,000<\/p>\n<p>HOW TO GIVE<br \/>Donate at wishbook.mercurynews.com\/donate or mail in this form.<\/p>\n<p>ONLINE EXTRA<br \/>Read other Wish Book stories, view photos and video at wishbook.mercurynews.com.<\/p>\n","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"Facilitating meaningful contacts between human and beast is central to the mission of Furry Friends.","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":""},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"1766193435","print_workflow_exported_username":"sgonzales@bayareanewsgroup.com","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":13013,"print_status":12923,"print_endpoint":"bang","add_export_buttons":""},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"South Bay&#039;s Furry Friends brings fuzzy love to South Bay kids, seniors, patients, families, veterans, inmates","syndication_source":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":12303035,"title":"wishbook Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy","filename":"SJM-L-WBFURRY-8.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-WBFURRY-8.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wishbook-furry-friends-pet-assisted-therapy-3\/","alt":"","author":"710","description":"","caption":"Gerry Gregg, Marine veteran from Sacramento, pets Sophie O\u2019doodle, the 8-year-old doodle, next to her handler Claire Rhodes, San Jose, during a Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy session at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. 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