People's lives have been changed because of these furry friends. Therapy dogs or commonly known as dog doctors in Taiwan, have brought great happiness and companionship to more than 150,000 senior citizens on the island in the last 10 years. Now the association, which supports these canines are struggling to survive. With no help, the love driven organization, which has a big bill of 6 million NT dollars a year, may be shutting down as early as October.

The Formosa Animal-Assisted Activity and Therapy Association (FAAATA) will be shut down due to its financial difficulty.

The 10-year-old association has been carrying out its mission by bringing dog therapy to people in need including patients, elders and children with autism.

These furry and cuddly dog doctors have been paying visits to patients in institutions, special education centers, and hospitals throughout Taiwan and their company is the best relief for patients in pain. Many patients become more active and responsive both during, and after, dog doctor's visits.

Improvements are seen in patients' mood, verbal communication, and willingness go through difficult treatments.

Being a dog doctor is not easy, especially when it takes great concentration and stability when serving patients.

Dogs need to go through three stages of training which lasts six weeks, including basic obedience training, resisting food temptation, concentration training and related internships to become professional therapy dogs.

For the past decade, these calm friendly dogs have given more than 150,000 people, both young and old, the pleasure and chance to cuddle and talk to them.

However, the association faces great challenges in fundraising while it is responsible for all of the expenses of dog doctor's visits.

Six-million-NT dollar expense per year has forced the founder to close the association permanently in October, leaving more than 500 people in need for visits from dog doctors.

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