WOOF Therapy Dogs (We Offer Our Friends)

WOOF Therapy Dogs (We Offer Our Friends) WOOF Therapy Dogs is a volunteer organization of certified therapy dog teams serving the Peoria area. You can also follow us on Instagram

Inception of WOOF Therapy Dogs: 2011

WOOF stands for We Offer Our Friends. “Our friends” are our dogs and are owned and trained by each handler. Therapy dogs come in all sizes and breeds. The most important characteristic of a therapy dog is its temperament. A good therapy dog must be friendly, patient, confident, gentle and at ease in all situations. Therapy dogs must enjoy human contact and b

e content to be petted and handled. Service dogs and Therapy dogs have distinct differences. Service dogs are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability. Therapy dogs are trained to provide affection, comfort and love to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, hospices, and disaster areas. Therapy Dog Benefits: Therapy dogs are most commonly used to help people heal emotionally, physically and mentally. These programs usually visit hospitals, nursing homes, schools and recovery centers. The dog’s presence reduces stress, creates a relationship, helps people feel loved and needed, provides a listening ear without judgment, improves social skills and boosts the confidence of an individual. New Visit Requests: WOOF Therapy Dogs has a relatively small group of teams. While we welcome new facility visit requests, we must take into consideration our current schedule of facilities already in a regular rotation and the location of any new facility.

Today, we get to celebrate Lola Mae, aka Princess (her sister Zoey is Queen) or Yoda. Lola is turning 8 years old today....
06/12/2026

Today, we get to celebrate Lola Mae, aka Princess (her sister Zoey is Queen) or Yoda. Lola is turning 8 years old today. Lola is an American Cocker Spaniel. Lola has a routine to start her day: finding her red ball and playing soccer all by herself, running with it all over. Her favorite toy is a Kong red crab named Crabby. Did you know that Lola gets excited and wags her tail every time she sees the garage door go up and she knows her humans are home? Lola is definitely a snuggler; however, she is really good as vocallizing her concerns regarding potential "intruders," which are commonly a tractor or a 4-wheeler that goes down the farm road; she ensures everyone in the house is aware. Happy Birthday, Lola!

“Reading with WOOF Dogs” at Metamora Public Library this afternoon. Lots of children were moving around the library to r...
06/11/2026

“Reading with WOOF Dogs” at Metamora Public Library this afternoon. Lots of children were moving around the library to read to each dog, but also a common goal was collecting all 7 dog trading cards.
WOOF welcomed the debut of a new therapy dog team, Vicki Sauvageau and her 4 year old Collie, Riley.
L-R: Julie & Quigley, Laura & Summer, Vicky & Phoenix, Joy & Jamee, Shelly & Boomer, Cheryl & Poly, Vicki & Riley

Central Primary School in Washington invited WOOF teams into their classrooms this morning during their extended school ...
06/08/2026

Central Primary School in Washington invited WOOF teams into their classrooms this morning during their extended school year special needs program. Teams divided into two groups and visited each of their 10 classrooms, 50 students, age 3 early childhood, K-8, and 1 autism class. It was a busy, well organized schedule with excited, happy children and well petted dogs.
L-R: Julie & Indigo, Courtney & Hobbs, Margy & Mabel, Joy & Jamee, Pat & Rosevelt, Vicky & Phoenix, Eric & Quigley

06/04/2026
WOOF teams made an impromptu visit to displaced residents caused by the recent devastating fire at Chapters Living of Wa...
06/03/2026

WOOF teams made an impromptu visit to displaced residents caused by the recent devastating fire at Chapters Living of Washington. Some are temporarily staying across the street at Senior Living of Washington. These residents are so resilient and even though they are very shaken, our dogs helped them smile for a while this morning. ❤️🙏
L-R: Marsha & Casey, Esther & Skye, Julie & Indigo, Eric & Izzy, Joy & Jamee

Rylee Tunyuck’s Beloved MooseTrying to find words tonight to share the devastating news of the loss of one of our belove...
06/03/2026

Rylee Tunyuck’s Beloved Moose
Trying to find words tonight to share the devastating news of the loss of one of our beloved therapy dogs, Moose. So many of our WOOF members knew and greatly loved Moosey and his handler/mommy Rylee Tunyuck. They lived here and were members of WOOF for 3 years before moving to Iowa. Those who joined WOOF since their move, missed witnessing a gentle giant at work. Moose was 140 pounds, ATD certified, and always the most popular dog in attendance at our WOOF visits.
A testament from Rylee… “Moose loved kids so much. He loved hugs and being told he was so handsome. He died being the big puppy at heart that he always was."

Moose was 8 years old and taken too soon and unexpectedly from his beloved family, his WOOF family, and the hundreds of kids and adults he so faithfully served. Moosey will be greatly missed and always deeply loved, none greater than by his best friend and mommy, Rylee.

WOOF started the month of June out perfectly with the residents at Liberty Village of Peoria. We gathered in the Town Sq...
06/01/2026

WOOF started the month of June out perfectly with the residents at Liberty Village of Peoria. We gathered in the Town Square to visit with residents from Independent Living, Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing. The residents did a great job cheering, “woofing” and clapping to get all of our dogs looking and us smiling for the group photo.
Back L-R: Esther & Skye, Marsha & Casey, Claire & CharLee, Vicky & Phoenix
Front L-R: Courtney & Pierogi, Joy & Jamee, Julie & Indigo, Sally & Olive

This terrific trio visited the residents of Villas of Hollybrook Memory Care in Pekin today. Upon seeing the ATD logo wh...
05/26/2026

This terrific trio visited the residents of Villas of Hollybrook Memory Care in Pekin today. Upon seeing the ATD logo which says, “sharing smiles and joy,” a resident commended us on doing a “perfect job!” It was our pleasure!

L-R: Claire & CharLee, Esther & Holly, Janet & Scout.

St. Patrick Catholic School of Washington hosted a Field Day for their students today filled with lots of fun activities...
05/21/2026

St. Patrick Catholic School of Washington hosted a Field Day for their students today filled with lots of fun activities. WOOF Teams entertained kindergarten through 4th grade students or more accurately we should say the students entertained our dogs and us! We all truly enjoyed each other’s company. Have a great summer St. Pat’s!

L-R: Eric & Quigley, Claire & CharLee, Esther and Willow, Joy & Jamee, Kathy & Charlie

WOOF was back in action this afternoon with residents and staff at Apostolic Christian Restmor in Morton. Lots of smilin...
05/21/2026

WOOF was back in action this afternoon with residents and staff at Apostolic Christian Restmor in Morton. Lots of smiling from everyone because of loving dogs and beautiful weather.
L-R: Claire & CharLee, Esther & Skye, Joy & Jamee, Courtney & Pierogi, Shelly & Boomer

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925 W Walnut St
Metamora, IL
61548

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