Canine Comforter
Team Cinder Therapy Dog Program Helps BGCH Youth
It’s Monday afternoon and a group of teenagers is gathered at the Samuel S. Gray, Jr. Boys & Girls Club at Asylum Hill. Some have arrived 15 minutes early, too excited for their weekly therapy session to wait. Getting teens to come to therapy, let alone be enthused about it, may seem like a tall order, but Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford’s resident therapist is up to the task.
She walks in, one paw in front of the other, her tail slapping the door on the way in, before flopping to the floor and rolling on her back for a belly rub. She’s Cinder, the canine half of therapy dog duo, Team Cinder.
Cinder and her handler Lisa Levin are part of an expanded program teaching social and emotional skills aimed at improving young people’s mental health. It’s one other way Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford is committed to making mental health a priority.
Levin says when she retired as an attorney for The Hartford she wanted to give back to her community. “It was important to me for this chapter to include having a connection with kids,” she said.
She joined Cold Noses, Warm Hearts, a nonprofit that trains and certifies therapy dogs. After a nine-month training program, Team Cinder was ready to begin offering comfort and compassion. One day while on a school visit, Levin passed the Boys & Girls Club and reached out, thinking it could be a great opportunity for them. She connected with Assistant Program Director Anthony Daddona, who along with DCF (Department of Children and Families) Case Manager Sarah Gunn, established the Team Cinder program.
"Cinder's healing and comfort powers are profound."
Sarah Gunn created a six-week curriculum which focuses on communication, hygiene & wellness, healthy habits, reading, and art, using the dog as a model. Each lesson also includes social and emotional skills and coping mechanisms. But the kids participating are only focused on Cinder.
“A lot of people are skeptical or resistant to therapy. But a dog doesn’t ask questions. It’s not as clinical. She can sense you’re upset and is there to comfort,” Gunn, a licensed master social worker, said. “Cinder’s healing and comfort powers are profound. I’m in awe when I see her interact with a child,” Levin said.
Cinder’s success stories grow with each visit. One particularly shy and introverted Club member smiled for the first time while interacting with Cinder and began to open up with his peers.
“I’ve found that many times I know a kid is dealing with something, but they don’t want to talk to me about it. But when Cinder is there, they can relax and be present. It’s a chance to escape what’s bothering them for a bit,” Gunn said.
"A dog doesn't ask questions, she's just there to comfort."
“Over the weeks I’ve watched this little group bond, with Cinder and with each other,” Levin said. “There are lots of hugs. The kids like to talk to her. Many are comforted by feeling and petting her ears. She will nuzzle them to ask for more pets or roll over for a belly rub. It’s a powerful experience to bring Cinder and watch the kids interact with her.”
Cinder’s visits are also teaching responsibility. The kids who participate take an active interest in Cinder’s well-being, ensuring her harness and leash are secure before she leaves the Club and that she’s eating healthy. They’re also interested in learning about Cinder, like what colors she can see or how she can tell when they are feeling down.
“They want to be with her. They’re willing to do anything to stay with Cinder,” Gunn says. “It’s a great opportunity to work on behavior and responsibility.”
Team Cinder comes weekly to the Samuel S. Gray, Jr. Boys & Girls Club at Asylum Hill and has participated in programs at the Trinity College Club, but Gunn says in the fall they hope to expand the program to the other Club sites.
“Team Cinder gives them a safe space and a reason to come to the Club,” she said. “Some kids can’t help but be pessimistic about some of the things they’re dealing with, but with Cinder it’s different. She makes everything brighter.”
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2025 edition of Be Greater Magazine. Click below to read the full issue.
