Our History

Gabriel's Angels is, in part, named after our first charter therapy dog, Gabriel, a Weimaraner who is an advocate for abused children. The children we serve, our volunteers, and our supporters are our Angels.

In 1999, Pam Gaber took Gabriel, a charming Weimaraner puppy into her family.  As a volunteer at Crisis Nursery in Phoenix, she shared stories with the children about the adventures of his puppy-hood.  In the spirit of the holiday season, Pam thought it would be fun to introduce Gabe, dressed as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, to the children.  What happened that afternoon was amazing.  Children who regularly behaved violently towards others approached Gabe with kindness.  Children, who refused to leave their rooms to join the party, crept shyly out to meet Gabe.  The change in the children’s behavior was so noticeable that the Crisis Nursery staff asked Pam to “bring him again!”

From her experience in the veterinary industry, Pam was aware that pets and their handlers could become certified pet therapy teams.  She and Gabe certified through Delta Society and continued their visits at Crisis Nursery.  Friends and neighbors, upon hearing about Pam’s experiences with Gabe and the children, thought they and their pets could do this too.  A small group of handlers and pets came together, forming a club to reach out to children through pet therapy.  Demand continued to grow and soon it was clear that a more formalized structure was required.

Our results with these first children were outstanding and exceeded even our own expectations! Both the on-site caregivers and social workers quickly confirmed that the children we worked with were more empathetic and nurturing to one another other. We could see the improvement ourselves in the way they began treating Gabriel.

Gabriel’s Angels was formed in 2000 out of a pressing and documented need in the community to enhance the lives of abused, neglected and at-risk children.  On January 24, 2001, we were granted our 501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service retroactive to date of incorporation.

Gabriel’s Angels has grown to over 115 certified Pet Therapy Teams serving over 12,000 children annually through 100 partner agencies and facilities in the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas.