Estou Cãotigo - Combating loneliness and the physical and emotional decline of the elderly.

With this van, we will bring tenderness where the loneliness exists, allowing each dog to reach the lap, the hand, and the heart of every elderly person. Participate. Be part of this journey.

The "Estou CãoTigo" project was created to combat loneliness, social isolation, and the physical and emotional decline of institutionalized or vulnerable elderly people through dog-assisted interventions—an approach that transforms lives, reduces loneliness, and promotes physical and emotional health.

Every day, our team and our dogs work together, conducting regular sessions that stimulate memory, promote movement, enhance emotions, and above all, the feeling of not being alone. We aim to reach 180 senior citizens in the municipalities of Mortágua, Penacova, and Mealhada, and in this way, promote real improvements in their quality of life, mental health, and well-being.

But to reach them, we need you.

For this project to succeed and have the desired impact, it is essential to acquire a van that allows:

• Transporting the technical team and the intervention dogs;

• Travel to institutions and homes of elderly people in situations of isolation;

• Ensuring the well-being, comfort, and safety of animals;

• The continuity and sustainability of the interventions throughout the entire project.

This van is not just a means of transport. It is the vehicle that brings affection to places of loneliness, that brings people closer. It is the link that allows each dog to reach the lap, the hand, and the heart of each elderly person.

Donate. Participate. Be part of this journey.

By supporting this campaign, you are helping us fight loneliness, promote more active aging, and prove that no one ages better alone.

I'm with you. Always.

Estou Cãotigo - O projeto que combate a solidão e o declínio físico e emocional de idosos, através de intervenções assistidas por cães

About the author

ABAADV – Associação Beira Aguieira de Apoio ao Deficiente (Beira Aguieira Association for the Support of the Disabled) , a guide dog school for the blind in Mortágua, is a private non-profit association with the status of IPSS (Private Institution of Social Solidarity), which, throughout its more than 25 years of activity, has trained and delivered around 300 guide dogs , always free of charge, to blind Portuguese people , thus contributing to their greater and better inclusion, autonomy and quality of life.

Since 2022, it has integrated a new area of work: dog-assisted interventions, whose beneficiaries are institutionalized elderly people or those in situations of social isolation or loneliness, and children and young people with specific needs.
The "Estou Cãotigo" project was the first Dog-Assisted Interventions project aimed at the elderly community in the municipality of Mortágua, with recognized benefits in combating isolation and affective, cognitive, and emotional decline in this vulnerable population.
This year, the Estou Cãotigo project enters a new phase, where its area of intervention will be expanded to the municipalities of Penacova and Mealhada.

Estou Cãotigo - O projeto que combate a solidão e o declínio físico e emocional de idosos, através de intervenções assistidas por cães

Budget and due dates

This new phase of Estou Cãotigo and its consequent expansion to new territories will last 36 months: from July 2025 to June 2028.

The funds raised (after deducting the cost of PPL commissions) will be used entirely to pay for the purchase of a van, to allow a technician providing assisted interventions, along with their dogs, to visit elderly beneficiaries of these programs in the municipalities of Penacova and Mealhada.

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