Tom Crowly: Community Service Recognition

Tom is organized, a great communicator, and enthusiastic about dogs and the joy they create- to owners and to those they interact with. This is why the number of Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD) teams in Pima County has more than doubled, from 40 to 99 teams, since he volunteered to be a trainer and coordinator five years ago.

Tom has volunteered with ATD for nearly 16 years, the first ten in Dallas. Upon moving to Pima County six years ago, he continued his volunteer work but became a certified ATD trainer and started communicating/coordinating between organizations that wanted an ATD team. The requests are from a wide array- schools, hospitals, libraries. Anywhere, people need attention, affection, and connection. Love is a warm dog hug. Demand far outweighs supply, so Tom actively recruited other trainers and cheerfully enabled newly certified teams to match with agencies/events to assure compatibility.

Each team volunteers at 3-6 organizations monthly (i.e., my dog does Read to a Dog at two libraries 2x a month but occasionally at a special event like LaFrontera children’s group). A conservative estimate of ATD volunteer activity is about 11,000 hours annually. The hugs and smiles generated by ATD teams are in the millions! Words cannot express the joy- sometimes excitement and sometimes tears- as a child or disabled person interacts with a dog. Thankfully, Tom continues to train trainers and recruit ATD teams to meet increasing requests.

Community Service Recognitions

Community Service Recognitions, including the one received by Tom, are given at the annual SAVMA Awards. These recognitions and awards are part of a larger strategic effort to draw attention to the essential work of volunteers and to the profession of volunteer engagement.

Learn more about volunteer opportunities with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.