Kids Puppy Cuddle & Care Club

Corgi puppies. Cushions on the floor. An hour where the only job is to be gentle.

This isn't a class and it isn't a performance. It's a quiet puppy hangout for kids aged 5 to 13, scheduled for the part of the afternoon when the puppies are starting to wind down. Children sit on mats and cushions to cuddle, watch, and play softly. There's no routine to follow and nothing to get right.

What your child will pick up along the way

Our team weaves in small questions as the hour goes, the kind that stick because a puppy is right there demonstrating the answer:

• How can you tell a puppy wants to play?
• How can you tell it needs space?
• Why do we use gentle hands?
• How do animals talk without using words?
• What does it mean for an animal to trust us?
• How do we show kindness to animals every day?

Nobody lectures anyone. The puppies do the teaching. Children tend to leave thinking less "that puppy was so cute" and more "I wonder how the puppy feels."

Why we're running this

August 26 is International Dog Day, and we're marking it with Paws for Compassion, an afternoon built around one belief: empathy toward animals is something you can nurture in a child, and it starts early.

Dogs are often the first friend who teaches a child that feelings belong to someone else too. That another living being has its own boundaries, preferences, and fears, and that noticing them is what kindness actually looks like.

Animals aren't here for our entertainment. They're living beings who deserve gentleness and respect, and that's a lesson best learned with a puppy in your lap.

$5 from every child ticket goes to the Justice for Animals Foundation

A Canadian charity working to protect animals and advance their compassionate treatment. You don't have to do anything but come.

The details

Wednesday, August 26
3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Yoga Kawa Leaside, 539A Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto
Ages 5 to 13, with a participating adult
Corgi puppies

What to bring

Comfortable clothes for you and your child, the kind you don't mind puppy paws on. Mats and cushions are provided. Please leave treats and toys at home so the puppies stay settled.

A note on the puppies

We cap attendance and we build rest into the day. The puppies get a 45-minute nap and wellness break right after this session, before the evening classes. They're guests here, not props.

Spaces are limited. The puppies can only meet so many friends in one day.

This session is part of Paws for Compassion, an afternoon of four experiences on August 26 running from 2:30 PM to 7:30 PM. Puppy yoga at 2:30 and 5:15, and a candlelit puppy cuddle sound bath at 6:30 for ages 14 and up.