spotlight

J

ARC, a nonprofit organi-
zation serving adults with 
developmental disabilities 
in the Metro Detroit area, hosted 
Dogs & Donuts, an event for the 
people they serve that involved 
interaction with therapy dogs 
and eating delicious donuts, on 
the evening of July 27. 
The event was created with 
the help of JARC volunteer 
Susan Tauber to offer persons 
served an opportunity to receive 
attention and comfort from the 
trained animals. Interaction with 
therapy dogs has been found to 
reduce stress and enhance social 
interaction for some individuals. 
The dogs present at the event 
included one who was blind, 
which was especially interesting 
for some people JARC serves 
who have visual impairments.
The event was held outside 
at a JARC home in Bloomfield 
Hills and was attended by 60 
people JARC serves. There 
was a lot of excitement and 
many smiles by JARC persons 
served as they interacted with 
the therapy dogs and enjoyed 
donuts. JARC plans to continue 
visits from some of the dogs in 
their homes in the future with 
interested volunteers. 

JARC 
Dogs & 
Donuts 
Event

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JARC

Cody the therapy 
dog looked like 
he was having 
fun at the event.

Jonathan, a 
person served 
by JARC, and 
Cody the 
therapy dog.

Lori, a person 
served by 
JARC, and 
Pearl the 
therapy dog

Ivan, Renee and Carrie, 
all persons served by 
JARC, alongside Pearl 
the therapy dog and 
her owner Susan

SEPTEMBER 22 • 2022 | 103