paws4peopleTM foundation - Assistance Dogs|Nonprofit Fundraising|Charity Raffles

Concord News

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 13:33:00 +0000

I hope that everyone has had wonderful holidays!

I wanted to congratulate Kathy, Alex and CAMDEN Crisp as well as Lisa, Jack and CAYLIE Swiger on their re-certifications! Congratulations on a job well done. All of you have grown so much as working teams and I was quite proud of you as I watched you move through each element of the test.

Great job!

Visit paws4people for more information about our Assistance Dog programs, NPOFundingSolutionS for more information about our nonprofit fundraising programs, and CharityRaffles.org to purchase online raffle tickets, support our programs and Win $1Million!

Saying thank you doesn't seem to be enough....

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:47:00 +0000

This past year I've had the amazing opportunity to work with and meet many veterans through our paws4vets program. Working with our veterans has given me a window that has allowed me to see what it has meant for them to go into combat. The physical, mental and psychological toll of going to war is overwhelming. Every time I've worked with a veteran I am reminded of this.

I am completely humbled and constantly amazed at their sacrifice for our country.

To our veterans, thank you, so much for your sacrifice. You've touched my heart in countless ways. You are all a constant inspiration to me. It is an honor to know each of you, work with you and train dogs for you. After your service for our country I am grateful that I can offer my talent of training dogs as a service to you.

ANNABEL in the newspaper

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 23:28:00 +0000

Hello Everyone,

Thought you would enjoy seeing an article about our very own Mary Lou Kuklentz and her scottie, ANNABEL. Thanks for sharing Mary Lou and congratulations!

http://www2.independenttribune.com/news/2010/oct/03/program-encourages-reading-mans-best-friend-ar-432657/

http://www2.independenttribune.com/harrisburg/

CAROLINE's progress

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 12:57:00 +0000

Ok, June 6th as my last post is absolutely shameful! So very sorry about the long, long dry spell. In that time, CAROLINE went back to the prison at Alderson for a training follow up on heeling and the "pay attention" command. "Pay Attention" is when the dog alerts her handler when someone is approaching from behind. An incredibly important command, especially for our veterans. This command allows them to know when someone is coming up to them, even if their back is turned, eliminating the surprise factor.

Since her return, I've noticed that CAROLINE has gained some maturity and is definitely more focused on her work. She's able to work through more distractions and can maintain her heel position even if her handler is distracted. Up until now our trips in public have been training trips-not true shopping trips. I have had to be totally focused on her-reminding her to watch me, heel, not sniff inappropriate things, etc. Now that she is more relaxed and in control of herself our trips involve real shopping. I have a big grocery list, or am distracted with browsing, etc. We're also fading out food through the process. Places that we visit frequently she doesn't need much food to maintain focus. Places that are harder because the of the amount and type of smells (such as Petsmart) she still needs a lot of food, but she's not nearly as distracted. In fact yesterday, she was so great in Petsmart I was ready to jump for joy! So, so, so proud of my girl CAROLINE and the progress she's making!

News

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 02:40:00 +0000

CAROLINE has been making wonderful progress in her training. We've been working very hard on her attention and heeling while out in public and I am very impressed with how hard she works and how quickly she's coming along. We've been to Target, Walmart, Concord Mills Mall, Dick's Sporting Goods, Marshalls, Bed Bath and Beyond, Staples, Starbucks, Panera...all of those multiple times. Each time we go out she shows more and more focus and attention. It's a really lovely to watch her grow and mature in her training. Also, she and I were down at Ft. Stewart this week working with Jeff. Jeff is doing a great job handling her in all kinds of stressful situations. I think my favorite part is walking several feet behind the two of them and watching them work together and develop as a team. The picture of the two of them walking together in a store that I know Jeff wouldn't be visiting for any reason in the world other than to be with CAROLINE....well, that says it all!

Fiona and I got to visit Jack the other day at Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte as well. When I told Fiona we were going to see Jack she was sssoooooo excited she could hardly contain herself. They got to play a little in the rec room (not many toys for kids their age but they found stuff to "mess" with) and then they watched part of a movie, had snack together, took a walk and visited with Jack's neighbors that came also. Fiona was in utter denial at having to leave. All the way out the hospital she kept saying "But I don't WANT to leave! I want to STAY with JACK!"

CAROLINE

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:18:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,

I am very happy to have CAROLINE here in Concord for the beginning of her public access training. She came about two weeks ago and we are planning on having her about a month (maybe I can convince Terry to let me keep her longer!) Now that I've done this a few times I'm know what to expect from a dog that is new to being in public. It's a really fantastic process to watch because I get to see how they start and I know how they'll finish. For example, the first time they walk into the Concord Mills Mall the look on their face says "HOLY COW I didn't know all this stuff existed! Look at that! LOOK at that! Look at THAT! What's that crazy person doing? A sliding door? It m-o-v-e-s! That freaks me out! Sit?? I can't sit! Who can sit in the middle of all this craziness!" But after a couple of months, they walk into the mall and say "Crazy person-who cares! Sliding door-no problem. A big moving train in the middle of the mall-I got it mom-I only look at YOU! What do you want me to do? Get my leash? Retrieve your keys? Ignore the screaming child poking my rear end? No problem!" It really is a beautiful transition to watch. Reminds me of when I used to teach first grade and the kids would start the year not knowing how to read and they'd leave at the end of the year-reading. It's a miracle and I'm honored to be a part of the process.

Speaking of being honored to be a part of the process, Jeff (one of our veterans) and his mom, Carol came up to Concord last night to participate in some of CAROLINE's public access training. I threw A LOT of challenges at Jeff (I'm certain more than I even realize) and he handled them all incredibly well. He and CAROLINE really operated as a team-they were completely focused on each other and worked hard. Excellent job Jeff! Thank you for being willing to step so far outside of your comfort zone!

News from North Carolina

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Mon, 03 May 2010 16:15:00 +0000

Hey Everyone!

It's been such a long time since I've blogged! :( So very sorry! I'll do my best to bring everyone up to speed on what's been happening.....(the following events are not in chronological order...I'm just throwing in everything I can remember!)

1. We had a fabulous 5K race in Wilmington thanks to Angie and the wonderful Wilmington chapter. Lots of support, runners, dogs and paws4people fans. It was great to have so many of us in the same place at once. Truly a rarity!!

2. Eliot Swiger and CAYLIE passed their public access test on the 23rd. Way to go Eliot and CAYLIE! They did a really great job together. I did have to make sure that Eliot knew (as well as Matt) that both of them have had it really easy....Kathy and Lisa worked very hard to get CAMDEN and CAYLIE past their public access "hump"! Then the men breeze in and say "what's so hard about this??" gotta love it :)

3. Buf and SALLY graduated at Alderson on April 14th!!! YEA!!!! These two are such an incredible team. It was a wonderful graduation and (as always) an inspiring, humbling, emotional experience to have been involved in the lives of such an outstanding person and dog. I am grateful for every moment I've spent with both Buf and SALLY. We also got to meet Buf's dad and brother-we were so excited that they were able to come to WV to attend the graduation.

4. I had another great Alderson visit last week and had the pleasure of taking up a new yellow lab mix puppy. One of our Concord volunteers, Rebecca fostered this wonderful pup from Kreitzer's Critter Coral Puppy Rescue. She called me up one day and said "Karen, I think you'd really like this puppy! He's so relaxed and laid back-he's just what you're looking for!" Now, that is a great phone call to get! I met the puppy (who's name was KRINGLE, but is now CHANCE-our inmate trainers wanted to rename him) and he was as fabulous as she had described. Rebecca adopted him and donated him to paws4people. CHANCE is now in the loving arms of our trainers at Alderson. They are incredibly excited to have him. In fact, they all practically turned into a big pile of mush saying "he's soooo cuuuute!" when they saw him. He is absolutely adorable. Thank you Rebecca and Kreitzer's Puppy Rescue!

5. Our Concord chapter of paws4people had another dog evaluation and handler training this past Saturday at Dorton Park. Congratulations to Sheila and her dog Slate, Kelly and her dog Nikki. Both of you will be wonderful therapy dog teams! We also had several people attend handler training who are interested in working with some of our current certified dogs. Thank you everyone for coming out to learn the "in's and out's" of handling therapy dogs!

I think that brings everyone up to date....more soon!

Ft. Stewart is up and running

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:19:00 +0000

Terry, Kyria and I were at Ft. Stewart, GA for two weeks of boot camp this month. The opening of the Ft. Stewart program has been in the works for approximately five months, so this was a very exciting time for us. Terry and Kyria had already interviewed and selected a handful of soldiers to be our first trainers so we were ready to start getting the ball rolling as soon as we arrived. Boot Camp consists of a concentrated, jam-packed two weeks in which we teach commands, protocol, rules, program expectations, the first 2-3 sections of our academic course work, as well as care, feeding, and maintenance of the dogs. The soldiers were tested on their knowledge of commands and academics before the first two dogs were left in their capable hands. PUMPKIN and DEJA were the two lucky dogs moved to Ft. Stewart from Jesup (a men's prison camp 30 miles from Ft. Stewart). Both PUMPKIN and DEJA had undergone such wonderful transformations while at Jesup that they transfered into Ft. Stewart with only minimal amounts of stress.

There are so many events that happened in those two weeks it would be very hard to describe them all. I would be remiss if I didn't describe some of the more noteworthy highlights though. Some of my favorite parts of the trip:

1. The soldiers who showed an immediate dedication and investment to the program. These guys are so important....they have already formed the "core group" that will make our program successful. We can't thank them enough for being motivated to step out and help when it was needed!

2. The visit we scheduled at Jesup. All of our soldier trainers came on this visit as well as Buf and SALLY. It was a moving and emotional visit for everyone. The inmates were so thankful that the soldiers had taken the time to come see them and the soldiers were grateful to have a chance to meet and talk with PUMPKIN and DEJA's trainers. Everyone was touched by witnessing Buf and SALLY's bond, hearing Buf's story, and watching SALLY perform the "pay attention" command for him. It is always a powerful experience when we get our clients together with our inmate trainers. The connection made between the two groups of people is life changing.

3. We were honored to have a visit from General Phillips the second week we were there. The General come and toured our "mod" (our home base where the dogs are housed and classes are held). He talked extensively with Terry, asked lots of questions, showed lots of interest in the program and ended up asking Terry, Kyria and I out to dinner that night to learn more about the program. We had a wonderful dinner with him that evening filling him in on all the details of paws4people and paws4vets. We are very excited to continue working with the General to find new ways to train dogs and help as many soldiers as possible.

4. I can't leave out the wonderful shrimp at BJ's BBQ in Jesup and crab legs and key lime pie at Captain Joe's Seafood Restaurant! :)

Keep visiting back-lots of more exciting stuff happening with paws4people. Terry, Kyria and Allison are visiting Ft. Lejeune again this week, the p4p 5k is coming up soon, I'll be back down in GA on the 7th...the list keeps going on and on!

Visit paws4people for more information about our Assistance Dog programs, NPOFundingSolutionS for more information about our nonprofit fundraising programs, and CharityRaffles.org to purchase online raffle tickets, support our programs and Win $1Million!

A Call to Action

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:40:00 +0000

Hey Everyone,

Kyria, Terry and I have had a great two weeks in Ft. Stewart, GA. I will update you on those exciting events soon.

The primary purpose of this blog is to ask for your continued help and support of our wonderful organization. paws4people has been in the very exciting position of opening 4 additional prison programs and 1 program at our first military base. We have several more prisons and military bases requesting our program as well. This has put a huge financial strain on our organization. We have several fundraising programs underway that will bring in donations at the end of April and in May. However, we desperately need support to bridge the gap between now and then.

Please visit www.paws4people.org/p4p_donate/ to help paws4people continue to change people's lives in amazing ways.

To read first hand about the incredible work we're doing with our most recent veteran clients read Paul's article, visit Paul's blog, Buf's blog or Jeff's blog.

Thank you, thank you for your continued support!!

Alderson Visit

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:05:00 +0000

Hi All,

I wanted to update you about a trip I had to Alderson this past Tuesday and Wednesday. Terry and I met with Jeff Mitchell and his parents, Carol and Doug. (You can visit Jeff's blog here.) Jeff is one of our newest veterans to be in the process of receiving a service dog. The purpose of Jeff's visit was to "bump" three of our dogs off of him. (A bump is when we have each dog interact individually with a person to see if there is a connection between the two for a potential placement.) Jeff is an incredible person. Like Buf, Jeff is so motivated and committed to getting a service dog, he's willing to push himself to do things he hasn't done in a very long time such as: drive, eat out at a restaurant (dinner and breakfast), stay at a hotel, and visit the prison and sit with 25 people he doesn't know. Jeff surprised us even more by telling his story in detail to the inmates so that they could understand his struggles. Terry, Allison and I were so impressed and thankful for the courage he showed throughout the entire trip.

Thank you Jeff for putting yourself on the line, pushing yourself, stretching your boundaries, and being willing to feel vulnerable. We are all better for knowing you and being with you for those couple days. We are honored to have the opportunity to find a great service dog partner for you and look forward to doing everything we can to help you move on and enjoy life.

Update in my world!

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:33:00 +0000

So I am writing this entry for two main purposes!! One is so the blog police won't take me away :) and the other is because there is a lot to update you on! So first and foremost I know that some of the most recent graduating class is wondering about the dogs' birthdays. CAYLIE and CAMDEN was born on March 23, 2008! LIA and SOLOMON was born on April 1, 2008! I know there will be many parties going on in about a month!! LILLY was born on July 24, 2008!

The next biggest news is that Morgantown camp is now active and got it's first two dogs on February 23! The men in the program are very fast learners and are over-joyed to have dogs back in their life! They are like sponges and just soak up every little piece of information I give them! I'm very proud of them as well as the program participants at the Hazelton camp and SFF! I'm very honored to be involved with the paws4people program! I don't think there could be anything more fulfilling than the work I do for the program! So thank you Kyria and Terry!

Also, the best thing in my life right now is my family's new puppy, Macie!! She is the most beautiful Golden Retriever ever (call me biased) and is learning lots of commands very quick! She is definitely a bright ray of sunshine even though we have tons of snow!

Until next time,
Heidi

Visit paws4people for more information about our Assistance Dog programs, NPOFundingSolutionS for more information about our nonprofit fundraising programs, and CharityRaffles.org to purchase online raffle tickets, support our programs and Win $1Million!

My New Puppy!!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:22:00 +0000

This gorgeous, handsome boy is my new puppy, VIC. I am ecstatic about him!!! I haven't had a puppy in a l-o-n-g time (JUNO turned 7 this month) so this is really special. VIC arrives by plane this week, most likely on Thursday night. His breeder, who is a good friend, is in Arkansas. VIC will be traveling with me on our trip to Ft. Stewart so he'll gets lots of great socialization with people, dogs and lots of great one-on-one time with me :) CAN'T WAIT for my new pup to arrive!!!

SANDIE

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 01:21:00 +0000

SANDIE enjoying her bone.

These pictures are of SANDIE, a dog from our program at Alderson that I'm currently fostering. SANDIE is about 6 months and a real sweetie. She's scheduled to go to Jesup (a men's camp in GA) on March 8th. This will be a BIG change for her because SANDIE is timid around men. Her move to Jesup is an important step in her overcoming her shyness around men. To help in that transition, Jason has done several training sessions with her. She started out hiding behind the couch, then she decided that it was ok to take yummy treats from him, then she decided he was ok enough to sleep next to on the couch :) Jason did a nice blog and video about her transition from "Jason is scary" to "Jason's not half bad" (I could have told her that!) Check out Jason's blog about SANDIE here.

Visit paws4people for more information about our Assistance Dog programs, NPOFundingSolutionS for more information about our nonprofit fundraising programs, and CharityRaffles.org to purchase online raffle tickets, support our programs and Win $1Million!

Congratulations to Lisa Swiger and Matt Crisp

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:56:00 +0000

Congratulations to Lisa for finishing umbilical cording with CAYLIE (yahoo! I know you're excited to have the leash off!) and to Matt for passing his public access test with CAMDEN.

Way to go you two! (Doesn't it feel good to be nearly through the transfer process?!)

Visit paws4people for more information about our Assistance Dog programs, NPOFundingSolutionS for more information about our nonprofit fundraising programs, and CharityRaffles.org to purchase online raffle tickets, support our programs and Win $1Million!

Buf and SALLY part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:58:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,

I just finished up another fantastic transfer training with Buf and SALLY. Everyone who is working with this incredible team is amazed at how quickly the process is moving along. Let me tell you some of the things that Buf and SALLY did the last few days:

Went to Wal-Mart (!) not once, but TWICE-once with Terry and once with me. SALLY did her "pay attention" command successfully-not only alerting on me approaching, but on two other couples passing Buf in the bread isle. Other than that, SALLY was glued to Buf the entire time. There were two or three times she briefly got distracted, but he easily brought her attention back quickly each time.
Went out to eat every time we asked him. Two of those times were at Applebee's. Both times we were seated at a booth next to the front entrance. Buf chose the seat with his back to the entry way. SALLY lay at his feet through the entire meal with her head on his foot.
Worked with Ms. Kirtley and Ms. Kharman again on commands. Today, he also worked with four other ladies new to the p4p dog program. He practiced the "pay attention" command with SALLY in several different set ups. Sound easy? Not so much. To do this correctly, Buf had to stand facing the wall (his back to the room and people) as if he were at a store looking at food on shelves. We had the ladies passing behind him one at a time or in groups of two or three. SALLY alerted him to their approach EVERY time. Having his back to the room had to have been incredibly hard for Buf (although no harder than Walmart!) but he did it readily when we asked.
Practiced retrieving commands, turning lights on and off, and tugging his jacket off.
Buf even got to have SALLY over night for two nights (we didn't let him keep her over night last time). She slept next to him curled up on the bed :)

Like last time, Buf had a glow. He was smiling, talkative, happy with SALLY by his side. Need I say more??

A shout out to my amazing hubby

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:14:00 +0000

Today's blog is not about any dogs (I know it's a big shock!). It is about my amazing husband who is incredibly supportive of everything I do. Whether it's paws4people, Clever Canine, our own dogs, agility, herding, you name it...

For example:

I say "Can I go to California for six weeks while you deal with the kid, work, our two dogs, and managing the house?" He says "Go for it!"

I say "I'm going to bring ________(fill in the dog name) for __________ (an undisclosed number) weeks? He says "sure, no problem!"

I say "I'm going to manage a prison program in West Virginia and I'm going to need to be gone a few times a month to do so" He says, "That's fantastic-I'm so excited for you!"

and two of the most recent ones:

I say "I know you really like DRAKE and want to keep him for me to train. If I do that you have to build me a fence." He says "As soon as that big tax refund coming in!"

I say "In March I'm going to be gone for a couple weeks helping to open our new program at Ft. Stewart-can you cover everything here?" He says "sure! That's exciting news!"

So....the other day when he asked if we could cross link our blogs, I said "of course!" He has already written a post (on February 10th) about my work with paws4people on his blog titled "My Amazing Wife"-gotta love that!! Please check out his blog here. (And if you want to skip right to the "My Amazing Wife" entry click here) Jason's blog is about his journey to find the work he's passionate about and to discover how to do that work every day and get paid for it. In fact, we've both been on that journey for the last eight years. For me, it's been with dogs. For Jason it's been with coaching, writing and speaking. We both believe that finding and working within one's passion is worth the risk. Yes, it's scary and it takes tremendous courage, but the rewards far outweigh the risk. It is this conviction that lead me to paws4people where the work is the most rewarding, fulfilling, meaningful thing I've ever done. And it fits me-I know this is right where I'm supposed to be at this point in my life. I would have none of this if I had been to scared to take the leap. It's also this conviction that has lead Jason to push himself to pursue his calling.....

So, this is my shout out to my amazing husband who fully supports me in all of my dog related activities....and for whom I fully support in his passion for public speaking, coaching and writing.

Visit paws4people for more information about our Assistance Dog programs, NPOFundingSolutionS for more information about our nonprofit fundraising programs, and CharityRaffles.org to purchase online raffle tickets, support our programs and Win $1Million!

Matt Crisp is my hero!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 03:32:00 +0000

On Monday Matt, CAMDEN and I had another training session. Matt had some specific goals he wanted to work on: go through, back, behind (for moving up and down ramps with CAMDEN), but also he wanted to take a trip to the vet. This is important because the reception area at their vet is quite small and if Matt needs to take CAMDEN to the vet by himself, he has to know how to maneuver his wheelchair, open the door and handle CAMDEN (keeping his focus through any potential distractions) all at the same time. Whew-that's A LOT to manage all at once! I have vivid memories of attempting this very task when I was in CA at an ice cream shop....to my chagrin I was not so successful but a very nice 12 year old girl had mercy on me and held the door. It was nice of her, but you know, if I had five more minutes without tons of people backing up behind me I just might have made it!!)

I don't know if anyone who is reading this blog (other than Kyria and Matt, of course) has ever tried maneuvering a wheelchair, dog and opening a door (that's not automatic) without any help......but.....if you have then you know that it is downright HARD!!! Matt and I talked through some ideas but when it came down to it, he just had to try them out and find out what worked the best for him.

Well, let me just tell you that Matt had it down to a science on the second try. Holy cow, the man did it all by himself and he made it look easy! All he needed was a few minutes to try a couple things, talk through some ideas and BAM-he had it-no problem. I told him he was most definitely my hero. No doubt about it, Matt and CAMDEN were amazing to watch. (Now if he would let me watch about five more times I might be able to get it myself.......)

Visit paws4people for more information about our Assistance Dog programs, NPOFundingSolutionS for more information about our nonprofit fundraising programs, and CharityRaffles.org to purchase online raffle tickets, support our programs and Win $1Million!

Congratulations to Lisa, Jack and CAYLIE!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:15:00 +0000

Congratulations to Lisa, Jack and CAYLIE-they passed their public access test today! :) Lisa and CAYLIE will start umbilical cording right away which will last for the next two weeks. Good job you three-you've worked hard and it shows! We're proud of you!

Visit paws4people for more information about our Assistance Dog programs, NPOFundingSolutionS for more information about our nonprofit fundraising programs, and CharityRaffles.org to purchase online raffle tickets, support our programs and Win $1Million!

Buf and SALLY

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:49:00 +0000

Two beautiful pictures of SALLY when she was still in California.

(If you haven't already, please read Buf's story at

http://www.paws4vets.org/p4v_placement_directory?iid=17 )

Wow. really...wow.

I've just spent three days training with Buf and SALLY at Alderson. Buf is one of our newest veterans to receive a service dog and SALLY is the wonderful yellow lab that Kyria and I brought home from Bergin U. this summer.

There are many reasons why this was a huge success and such a moving experience to witness. For those of you who know Buf, many parts of Buf's training will stand out to you as momentous. For those of you who don't know Buf, please read his story so you can have a full appreciation of the courage he showed throughout this trip and its many challenges.

Every time I think of Buf and SALLY I just get a huge smile on my face. I can't stop remembering watching the two of them walk down the hall together: SALLY with a spring in her step (watching Buf's every movement), Buff grinning and talking to SALLY in an upbeat, attention grabbing voice. That upbeat voice was no small feat-Buf had to work hard to keep his voice upbeat and light hearted-to do that he had to focus on SALLY...and not other thoughts that brought him down. We told him that his emotions traveled right down the leash. To keep SALLY upbeat, happy and responsive, he had to be genuinely upbeat, happy and responsive. The more Buf practiced with SALLY, the easier this seemed to come to him.

I loved watching Buf give SALLY all kinds of commands: sit, down, stand, turn, shake, wave, stay, roll, heel, let's go, ready, go in, pay attention.... I have not seen a transfer move along so quickly. SALLY really watched Buf and paid close attention to him. Her tail was up, wagging, her body was relaxed and orientated to Buf, she was alert and having fun.....and guess what? My guess is that Buf was having fun too (based on the smile on his face).

I loved when our two excellent inmate trainers did a demo of SALLY's special skill of "pay attention". When this command is given, SALLY will alert Buf with a firm nose nudge when anyone is approaching from 15 feet away. This helps Buf a great deal since he is very concerned about someone approaching him without knowing. Even better is when we practiced this skill at the grocery store that night in the checkout line. When SALLY followed through on this command in a real life situation, the look on Buf's face was priceless. He has said that this one skill alone gives him hope for a more normal life with SALLY by his side....

I love how Buf accepted ANY challenge that Terry and I threw at him. He shook my hand and the inmates hands several times, he shopped in a grocery store, he went out to eat with Terry and I four times, he worked with SALLY in a hallway crowded with loud people walking in front and behind him, he practiced with SALLY on his own time, took video of the two of them and wrote incredible blog entries. And this is a short account of the great work Buf did this week. (For any of you thinking "Why are those things such a big deal?"-read Buf's story and you will know!!)

All of these things are great highlights of the last three days, but I have two favorite memories:

The first memory is after we pulled into a parking lot (can't remember where). Buf was driving his truck and he had SALLY. Terry and I were riding in Terry's car. As soon as we got out of the cars, Buf called us over and showed us SALLY-in the front passenger seat (instead of behind the seats). He laughed and laughed as he told us he tried to put SALLY in the back behind the seats but that she looked at him as if to say "What are you doing?? I belong up front!" And up front is where she stayed :)

The second memory is when Buf brought SALLY to my room yesterday evening after spending several hours with her. He told me about walking her several times, working with her, laying with her and getting down on her level only to get a bath with her huge sloppy tongue.....his face was completely lit up with the biggest ear to ear smile telling me about all of her antics. That makes it all worth while!!

To read about Buf's three days of transfer training in his own words, check out his blog:

http://buf-paws4vets.blogspot.com

Matt and CAMDEN

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:39:00 +0000

I've got lots of great stuff to update everyone on and I'm going to do it in two separate posts.

First of all, on Monday I had my first training session with Matt Crisp and CAMDEN. Now that Kathy and Alex are officially through the training process with me, it's Matt's turn to learn how to handle CAMDEN. He will go have several training sessions with me, take a public access test and complete a shortened umbilical cording process (not as lengthy since he's not the primary handler-but he still needs to develop the same level of comfort handling CAMDEN as Kathy has done in the past few months).

So, on Monday, Matt and I took CAMDEN to the Carolina Place Mall. I wanted Matt to have a chance to get used to the feel of handling CAMDEN as well as his wheelchair. I made him do a few crazy things such as walking through a packed food court (complete with a few walls of people standing in long lines), practicing the elevator procedure several times, practicing down stays in the middle of the mall, using the "get your leash", "bring it here", "back", "behind", "go through", "heel" commands as well as walking through a few stores with really tight isles.

Both Matt and CAMDEN were excellent. CAMDEN was very focused on Matt-moving with him, speeding up when appropriate, slowing down when appropriate, orientating his body to Matt, watching him for direction....even... (drum roll please)...ignoring any lady that said "Ohhhhh, he's SO cute!" VERY nice! Matt handled all the challenges quite well and ended his first training session very successfully.

Next up: the hospital and vet office for Matt and Mr. CAMDEN

CAYLIE shines

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:08:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,

On Wednesday, Jack Swiger was admitted into Duke University Hospital for a continuous EEG screening to learn more about his seizures. Lisa and Elliot had asked before hand if it was ok if CAYLIE came to be with Jack. Of course, I thought that was a great idea (as part of CAYLIE's job is giving comfort to Jack and helping him to stay calm). So, I went up on Thursday and Friday to Durham to make sure CAYLIE would do well in a hospital setting (she had been once but it was awhile ago). CAYLIE was absolutely wonderful. She acts as if she's been working at a hospital forever. Her favorite thing to do is lay on the bed with her boy-they snooze and watch t.v. together. She has accepted all the comings and goings of doctors and visitors very gracefully. She's very calm and collected. She's also developed a fan base of hospital staff in record time! Way to go CAYLIE! We're quite proud of our girl :)

Visit paws4people for more information about our Assistance Dog programs, NPOFundingSolutionS for more information about our nonprofit fundraising programs, and CharityRaffles.org to purchase online raffle tickets, support our programs and Win $1Million!

Way To Go!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:26:00 +0000

Congratulations Kathy, Alex and CAMDEN on your last day of umbilical cording!! You made it!! We are so very proud of all of you! :)

DRAKE (a.k.a. GREAT or GRAPE)

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:54:00 +0000

Hi All,

This beautiful boy, DRAKE is our newest paws4prisons dog. I'll be taking him to Alderson on February 2nd. He is a 6month old yellow lab that is an absolute love. He will melt your heart in a million pieces, as he did Fiona's. As soon as she saw him, she said "Is that MY dog?" I told her his name was DRAKE and that we'd have him for a little while, but that he'd go up to the prison program soon. She seemed fine with that (she's pretty used to it-although she still asks for TAYLOR). She has a hard time saying DRAKE and sometimes it comes out like GREAT or GRAPE. Anyway, it was love at first sight for both of them, DRAKE followed her all around the house and gave her kisses as often as he could (which she loved)!

CAYLIE's awesome demo/TAYLOR's good news

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:05:00 +0000

Last night Candace, Ashley, CAYLIE and I did a demo/talk for the Garden Club here in Concord at Calvary Lutheran Church. The ladies were great: friendly and welcoming as well as a very interested and engaged audience. I have to give our CAYLIE-girl props. She was fantastic! She was flawless in showing off her skills of retrieving items off the floor (shoes, socks and credit cards), counter retrieves (taking the credit card to the table and dropping it in the right place), tugging (shoe strings, socks), turning the lights on and off, leave it skills, as well as performing a full repertoire of her easier obedience skills. She was quite proud of herself! :)

TAYLOR's good news is that she has a forever home! Yahoo!! A friend of Sharon's went to visit her the other day at her foster home. This family fell in love with TAYLOR and will be adopting her later this week. A very, very happy ending. Thank you so much to everyone who helped spread the word to find this girl a great home!

Visit paws4people for more information about our Assistance Dog programs, NPOFundingSolutionS for more information about our nonprofit fundraising programs, and CharityRaffles.org to purchase online raffle tickets, support our programs and Win $1Million!

The Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:29:00 +0000

You all must watch this youtube video. It is done by Susan Garrett, a well known international agility competitor, however it's not about agility specifically. It's about what each dog brings into our lives and the importance of enjoying the journey with them.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfXGD4hP1Ro

Visit paws4people for more information about our Assistance Dog programs, NPOFundingSolutionS for more information about our nonprofit fundraising programs, and CharityRaffles.org to purchase online raffle tickets, support our programs and Win $1Million!