We are so excited to announce that Ty and Masa are now starting work with their handlers in their new hospitals!

Thank you to everyone who supported this 2-year journey including our many generous donors and our puppy volunteers. It takes a village to raise a Hospital Facility Dog!

We also continue to thank our many financial supporters – old and new – who have helped us keep going during the past year. 2021 is also proving to be a challenge in terms of fundraising, but luckily we’ve had some happy surprises so far — keep it coming!

Thank you everyone and…
Shine On!

Ty and Masa Go To Work!

Ty, Masa and their nurse-handlers spent most of April and May training to start their work in their hospitals. Until April, Ty and Masa had been training intensively with Marina Rodriguez, SOK’s trainer extraordinaire! But from April, the handlers joined the pups for what is known as Team Training Camp. This involved weeks of intensive studying both “in the classroom” and practical training in and out of the hospital.

We are very happy to announce that both teams passed with flying colors and will be doing their final 3 months of “probationary” work before final graduation at the end of summer!!!

Our Awesome Puppy Sitters!

It was a bittersweet get-together for all of the wonderful Puppy Sitters who have supported Ty and Masa over the past two years. Our volunteers got to meet Ty and Masa’s new handlers and share some of their favorite memories of the “Super Hero” dogs. It takes a special person to selflessly devote such love and care to a dog…knowing that they will have to eventually let them go to move on with their career. Shine On! Kids is extremely lucky and grateful. We couldn’t have done it without them!

Thank you SC Johnson!

We’d like to express our very deep gratitude for a 10 million yen grant from SC Johnson. Even during the height of the Covid-19 restrictions, Shine On! Kids has continued to execute our Facility Dog Program, Beads of Courage Program, and Shine On! Connections activities at children’s hospitals across the country. These activities have been providing crucial support to children with cancer and other serious illnesses who are hospitalized in pediatric wards where overnight curfews and strict visitation restrictions continue. With this very generous support from SC Johnson, our activities in Kanagawa Prefecture Children’s Medical Center and Yokohama City University Hospital will be further enriched.

These funds will go toward all three of our programs being executed in Kanagawa Prefecture:

SC Johnson is a family company committed to innovative, quality products, an exceptional work environment, and a long-term commitment to the environment and the community. The U.S.-based company is a leading global manufacturer of household cleaning products, household storage products, air care, pest control, shoe care products, and professional products.

Thank you, Miho Ohwada!

Japanese Actress Miho Ohwada, along with her father, actor Baku Ohwada, delivered heartwarming performances to hospitalized children in three of our Online Facility Dogs Concerts earlier this year.

Miho recently planned and produced a one-year anniversary musical funeral service for her mother, actress and TV presenter, Kumiko Okae, who loved musicals and jazz and sadly passed away in 2020. The proceeds from the tickets were donated to the Yokohama Children’s Hospice Project and Shine On! Kids!

Miho is now studying to become a music therapist, and is dedicated to activities for children. You can read more (in Japanese!) on Miho Ohwada’s blog.