I began volunteering with Canine Companions for Independence six years ago after a series of events led me to discover the organization. Having worked in pet care for a few years, I decided to attend dog training school where I learned about obedience, puppy, and even service dog training, since that’s always been an interest of mine.
Soon after, I adopted my German Spitz rescue, Queequeg. An energetic little guy, we went to every dog related event around, eventually making our way to Hinckley Ohio, and Canine Companions. I was hooked when I heard a graduate speak about how her life was positively impacted by getting a service dog. I immediately wanted to get involved to help more people get this opportunity.
I found the volunteers to be very warm and welcoming. Most of them are puppy raisers and, while this isn’t something that fits into my life right now, that doesn’t mean I can’t pitch in and help. If I’m running the projector at an event, that frees up those with puppies to get out and mingle. Other times I get to do a little more. A favorite volunteer moment was running the contests at the Dogfest fundraiser. I love the way a contest like ‘best trick’ can showcase the tasks Canine Companions for Independence dogs do for people on a daily basis. On other occasions I’ve gotten to march in parades. Once I had the privilege of walking a Canine Companions puppy so the raiser could photograph the event. I also love that I can take my own dog to some of the events. We both have a blast!
For the past few years I’ve been doing dog walking and training while attending Cleveland State University, graduating last year with my Bachelor of Arts in psychology. I’m excited that Canine Companions has started a PTSD pilot program. Service dogs can do so much to help a person, whether their need is physical or psychological. In the future I plan to continue in the pet care or training fields, maybe even training service dogs someday. For now, I’m happy helping out where I can for such an amazing organization.
I found the volunteers to be very warm and welcoming. Most of them are puppy raisers and, while this isn’t something that fits into my life right now, that doesn’t mean I can’t pitch in and help. If I’m running the projector at an event, that frees up those with puppies to get out and mingle. Other times I get to do a little more. A favorite volunteer moment was running the contests at the Dogfest fundraiser. I love the way a contest like ‘best trick’ can showcase the tasks Canine Companions for Independence dogs do for people on a daily basis. On other occasions I’ve gotten to march in parades. Once I had the privilege of walking a Canine Companions puppy so the raiser could photograph the event. I also love that I can take my own dog to some of the events. We both have a blast!
For the past few years I’ve been doing dog walking and training while attending Cleveland State University, graduating last year with my Bachelor of Arts in psychology. I’m excited that Canine Companions has started a PTSD pilot program. Service dogs can do so much to help a person, whether their need is physical or psychological. In the future I plan to continue in the pet care or training fields, maybe even training service dogs someday. For now, I’m happy helping out where I can for such an amazing organization.
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