People and dogs reach out to share comfort and care

Tireless. Selfless. Empathetic

Imagine an anxious child waiting to give evidence in court, a lonely person in a nursing home or an isolated school student.

That’s where Nicole Celeban, President of Nepean Therapy Dogs, and her team of well-trained human and canine volunteers step in.

They live the charity’s mission statement, “always there to show they care”, by comforting people of all ages at hospitals, nursing homes, special needs schools and courts throughout western Sydney and the Blue Mountains.

The visits are extremely rewarding, says Nicole, who has worked with the charity since 2000 and regularly takes her four dogs to visit hospital patients and witnesses.

She got goosebumps about being voted a Westfield Local Hero but sees herself as the “figurehead of an awesome team. The community understands what we are doing and are happy with what we’re doing. It’s a huge honour.”

Nicole says the charity has been flying “under the radar” for years and has benefitted from the extra attention.

One of her roles as president for the past six years has been to lead the way towards becoming a professionally run charity with high standards for volunteers and their dogs.

“A few years ago, we only had a dozen volunteers, and we’ve grown to 50-plus.”

At court, Nicole and her dogs provide traumatised children and vulnerable adults with emotional support so they can concentrate on their testimony while feeling they are in a safe, supportive environment.

At Nepean Hospital, she and the dogs provide emotional comfort to child and adult patients and their families.

Nicole, who also runs her own small business, always responds to calls for help and has taken her dogs as far Wollongong to support vulnerable witnesses.
Westfield Local Heroes are nominated and voted for by their communities, with the three top finalists per Westfield centre each awarded a $10,000 grant for their affiliated organisation.

Nepean Therapy Dogs will use its grant to cover rent, electricity and insurance for six months.

“It will free up many of our volunteers from time-consuming fundraising to allow us to extend our services to those in need,” Nicole says.

__For further information on the Westfield Local Heroes program, click here. __