The Underdog Project

The Underdog Project is a registered Non-Profit and Public Benefit Organization that leverages the power of the human-animal bond to inspire collective healing in underprivileged youth and shelter dogs in Cape Town. We connect youth and dogs through creative and supportive positive youth development (PYD) and animal-assisted intervention (AAI) programmes; teaching and imparting positive reinforcement dog training techniques, instilling life skills, and promoting humane education. The welfare of children and animals in South Africa is of equal importance to us and we believe we have found a creative way to provide mutual benefits to both these vulnerable groups. The safe and judgement-free environment we create, facilitated by caring adults, offers youth psycho-social support and encourages the development of 21st century skills (e.g., communication, critical thinking, perseverance and problem solving). Learning dog training techniques not only offers youth a new skill but working with vulnerable animals fosters empathy. This is especially crucial in our country's context. With the high levels of domestic abuse and gang-related violence, which is known to go hand-in-hand with animal cruelty, teaching empathy towards animals can translate into empathy towards humans. In addition, dogs living in the stressful shelter environment benefit greatly from our programmes. They are exposed to skills and obedience training, socialisation with children, mental stimulation, have time out of their kennels and the nurturing environment we offer them supports their healing process. All with the aim of increasing their chances of adoption. To learn more about our work or to find out ways to support us, visit our website and/or our social media platforms.