Overview

The Sit. Stay. Heal. Facility Dog Conference 2026 is an opportunity to connect with fellow facility dog handlers, program leaders and others starting a new program.  The conference will offer continuing education opportunities, networking, and points of connection all while celebrating the remarkable impact of facility dog programs across the country.  

Facility dogs are specially trained to partner with handlers in settings such as hospitals, schools, and courthouses, offering animal-assisted therapeutic support to the populations they serve. These dedicated teams play a vital role in reducing anxiety, improving experiences, and enhancing outcomes in a variety of environments.

This year's conference will offer both in-person and virtual registration options.  

Friendly reminder:  As much as we’d love to host all of our canine coworkers, we kindly ask that you do not bring your facility dogs to the conference hosted at Children’s Hospital Colorado.  Our Children's Colorado medical dogs will be ready to greet you!  We do want to be sure your facility dogs are represented!  We encourage you to share them with us in creative ways—many past attendees have brought a travelling (laminated) photo version of their dog to conference - they can appear in photos and help you spread the word about what you learned to your colleagues back home!

We look forward to seeing you all and learning together at this year's Sit. Stay. Heal. Facility Dog Conference! 

Target Audience

Current facility dog handlers or programs, organizations who are starting a facility dog program and hoping to gain more insight and knowledge into this unique but important work.

Abstract Submission

The Sit. Stay. Heal. Facility Dog Conference 2026 is collecting reflecting issues relevant to the use of facility dogs. For abstracts reporting research activities, research must be completed and /or preliminary data analysis available at the time of submission. Information presented should be relevant to attendees from institutions of varying scope and size.

Submission Guidelines

• Each abstract must be written in narrative form, meaning in the third person.
• Presenters shall not sell or promote any particular product or service at any time during the presentation.
• If your abstract submission does not follow the submission guidelines, your submission may be eliminated from the review process.

Submission Deadline: End-of-business on Friday, May 8, 2026.

Notifications: Will be sent out on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

Click here to submit your abstract and complete disclosures

For questions, contact [email protected].