How You Can Make a Difference

PAC dog working

The UCLA People-Animal Connection (PAC) program has grown from a single-pet therapy team in 1994 to more than 60 volunteer human and canine teams, which makes UCLA one of the most comprehensive Animal-Assisted Therapy programs in the nation.

PAC teams make more than 900 patient visits per month, seeing more than 10,000 critically ill children and adult patients as well as countless visiting families and friends. PAC dogs instinctively bond with patients of all ages, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds, and their visits help enhance physical healing and emotional well-being.

"My daughter woke up from her coma just after you and Apollo left the room. This is a miracle!" -Mother of 10-year-old coma patient.

How Your Gift Helps

Your generous donation helps to support our mission of providing comfort with a dog visit to every patient that is requests one. Your donations help to provide much needed supplies & resources for the program, including:

  • Training and Education
  • Special lab requirements for dogs
  • Special hospital supplies to ensure safety
  • Volunteer Uniforms
  • Dog Scarves
  • Film and cameras so patients have a keepsake of their special visit
  • Trading Cards
  • Expanding the program to support growing need

Give now and become part of a worldwide family of UCLA donors, helping to heal humankind, one patient at a time.

Donate online

Donate by mail

Please make checks payable to "UCLA Foundation," noting PAC in the memo line, to:

Mailing Address:
UCLA Health Sciences Development
10945 Le Conte Avenue, Suite 3132
Los Angeles, CA 90095

For more information

For further information about giving to PAC, please contact UCLA Health Sciences Development at (844) 474-4387 or hsdannualgiving@support.ucla.edu

For information on becoming a volunteer, contact UCLA People-Animal Connection at (310) 267-8184 or email UCLAPAC@mednet.ucla.edu.

A Big Thank You!

Petco Foundation

In 2023, the PAC program received a grant from the Petco Foundation as part of their successful Helping Heroes in-store fundraising campaign in partnership with Natural Balance. We are honored for this generous support of our four-legged healing who deliver joy each and every day! To learn more about the foundation’s lifesaving impact, please visit Petco Love(Link is external) (Link opens in new window).

Wallis Annenberg PetSpace

The Wallis Annenberg PetSpace in Playa Vista, California is a unique community space with an innovative and noble mission: to promote and strengthen the human-animal bond. In celebration of the June 2017 opening, the Annenberg Foundation honored the PAC program with a generous contribution to help us continue our mission of utilizing the same bond to enhance physical healing and emotional well-being of patients. For more about Annenberg PetSpace, please visit Wallis Annenberg Petspace(Link is external) (Link opens in new window).

Donate PAC Supplies

If you wish to donate to People-Animal Connection, the following items are always needed. Please note, all items must be new and in original packaging:

For more information on donating or sponsoring People-Animal Connection, please e-mail uclapac@mednet.ucla.edu