Meet working dogs at the Sacramento Children's Museum's annual event

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A unique day filled with hands-on demonstrations, photo booths, outreach and tail wags is approaching.

The Sacramento Children’s Museum will host its seventh annual “Dogs with Jobs” outdoor event on Saturday, April 11, starting at 11 a.m. “Dogs with Jobs” is free and will feature 30 to 40 dogs from different organizations, including law enforcement canines, therapy dogs and service dogs. 

Meghan Toland, the deputy director at the Children’s Museum, said the main goal of the event is to get people to interact with the dogs.

“All of the dogs are available for you to meet and pet and ask questions to their handlers,” Toland said. “But in addition, we also will have some dog-related crafts that kids can do, and a few different activities outside.”

Toland said being a dog lover is what inspired the creation of this event. She wanted to give children the opportunity to experience all of the “amazing things” dogs do.

“We had this idea several years ago for an event, and reached out to some of the local organizations and were welcomed with open arms,” she said. “People were thrilled to be able to partner with us and showcase what they do, either working with training the dogs, or what their dog does for them.”

One of the organizations the museum collaborates with is Canine Companions, which provides free, fully trained service dogs to individuals in need. 

The organization has provided nearly 9,000 dogs in 50 states, according to Jody Groves, a volunteer and puppy raiser. 

“The dogs that we provide can work with someone with a wheelchair, on crutches, a walker, someone with a hearing disability, someone that is a veteran that struggles with PTSD,” Groves said. “We also provide service dogs to facilities and institutions such as hospitals, district attorney's offices, psychiatrists that work with victims of crime.”

Groves said they’ve participated in every “Dogs with Jobs” event and there will be six to 10 dogs from Canine Companions including service dogs for children on the autism spectrum. She said the event is great for training the dogs.

“We call it making them ‘bomb proof,’ so that when they are with the recipient, say, someone in a wheelchair, the dog doesn't get distracted by children running, by loud noises, by motions going off around them,” Groves said. “So Meghan has allowed us to twofold — one to train in her museum and the other to take part in their outreach program, which is Dog with Jobs, which is a great event.”

Capital Therapy Dogs is a Sacramento area nonprofit that trains and trains and registers dogs and their handlers to provide emotional support in various settings, including schools, libraries and living facilities.

A dog embraces a kid at the annual "Dogs with Jobs" event in April, 2025. The dogs is part of the Capital Therapy Dogs.Armstrong Creative Co.

Barbara Street, the secretary of Capital Therapy Dogs, said one of the organization's programs is its Read to a Dog event, where kids can read out loud to a dog at a public library.  

“We also offer stress relief, especially with high school students preparing for finals,” Street said. “We also visit colleges and universities for wellness visits.”

Street said the bulk of their programs are with adults with assisted living memory care and their dogs provide a connection and calming presence.

The organization has participated in the “Dogs with Jobs" event for the last six years and will feature 14 dogs this year.

Capital Therapy Dogs will have a booth set up for people who want to learn more about the organization and the dogs.

“We also have a little photo booth, and parents with their phones can take pictures of their kids with the dogs, and then we give some sort of a reward,” she said. “We have a little sticker that says, ‘I met a dog.’ Kids get excited about that. It's just a great opportunity to see the benefits of just the support and friendliness that the dogs provide.”

California State Parks K-9 stands with a child holding a bone at the "Dogs with Jobs" event in April, 2025.Armstrong Creative Co.

Street said her favorite part of the event is seeing the children's expressions when they meet the dogs.

“It's just so much fun because in our group we have all shapes, sizes, colors of dogs, and some kids have never met a large dog, or have never met a tiny little dog, and it's just so much fun to see how they react to those dogs, just the instantaneous connection that kids have with dogs. It's great.”

The event is free, but you’re encouraged to register online so the museum knows how many people will be attending. Registration to the event does not include museum admission.