COURT PREPARATION PROGRAMME

Children from the ages of 3 to 18 years old, who have been physically or sexually abused, may have to go to court to testify against their alleged abusers. The Teddy Bear Foundation has a special monthly programme to help the children prepare for this ordeal.

TOP Dogs help teach the children about the court officials, in a fun and feel-good way. At the same time, the therapy dogs are helping the children to heal, bringing love without judgement or threat, and showing them the way back to trust. We dress our dogs up as the magistrate, the state prosecutor, the defence attorney and the court orderly (police officer). The children hold onto the therapy dogs as they practice in this mock session. However, in the real court, the dogs can`t be present, that’s where you can help:-

We aim to give every child a crocheted or knitted pup that will accompany them into the court. We would like each child to choose which dog would be “theirs” and give them their very own cuddly version that will remind them of love, smiles and courage.

That means a lot of knitting and crocheting work!

Our patterns range from easy to more challenging, and you can pick the breed you want to make. We even have photos of the real dogs for you, so you can match their colours! If you are interested, you can give of your time to knit or crochet a pup/ pups.

Once completed, kindly arrange for the pup/s to be collected:
info@therapytopdogs.co.za  |  kzn@therapytopdogs.co.za