Three years ago Charles Hay Elementary School in Englewood, Colo., adopted Missy, a Black Lab, from a local animal shelter. The students wanted a school dog and the staff found that the impact of a canine for teaching kids was very beneficial. At 8 weeks old, Missy became the school mascot. Then the staff realized that Missy needed surgery on both her knees and her hind legs, at a cost of $8,000. School officials say budget cuts made using school money out of the question. However, they found a local organization willing to help out, The Colorado Helping Hands Foundation along with the Alameda East Veterinary Hospital both chipped in to make Missy’s surgery possible. And now Missy is healthy and back at school fulfilling her school mascot duties.

]]> http://www.leavingourmark.com/blog/2010/05/24/missy-the-lab-is-this-schools-best-friend/feed/ 0 http://www.leavingourmark.com/blog/2009/11/09/sammy-the-painting-dog-shoreservicedogs-com/ http://www.leavingourmark.com/blog/2009/11/09/sammy-the-painting-dog-shoreservicedogs-com/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:37:10 +0000 admin http://www.leavingourmark.com/blog/?p=1326 Shore Service Dogs was created to provide second chances for both people and dogs in need of assistance. Located in Maryland, SSD brings abandoned, and abused dogs, into the founder’s home and custom trains them to become Service Dogs for people with mobility disabilities.

Shore Service Dogs specializes in training rescued dogs whenever possible to become Mobility Service Dogs that will aid the lives of those living with disabilities. Each Service Dog is custom trained specifically to fulfill the needs of their disabled partners.

One of their most famous service dogs is Sammy the Painting Dog. He visited NBC’s “Today Show” on Nov. 3, 2009, and showed off his artistic talents. Poor Sammy was so exhausted from the hectic schedule by the time the interview happened, he was literally falling asleep in front of the canvas, but he was a real trooper and held onto that paintbrush even as he dozed off.

Watch the astounding video of Service Dog, Sammy, the world famous pound pup featured on the National Geographic TV program “Dog Genius”, making his debut of becoming the next PAWblo Picasso.

Many families with young children typically have no place else to turn as many organizations either have waiting lists or age specific requirements. Karen Shirk, the Executive Director of 4 Paws for Ability, knows this from her personal experience. In the late 1990’s, Karen was searching for a service dog but was turned down by multiple agencies during a very trying time in her life.

This experience inspired Karen to start 4 Paws for Ability, and to keep as a founding principle the willingness to provide service dogs for any individual regardless of age or disability.

The mission of 4 Paws for Ability is to:
- Enrich the lives of people with disabilities by the training and placement of service dogs to provide individuals with companionship and promote independent living
- Educate the public to accept the use of service dogs in public places
- Assist with animal rescue whenever possible by obtaining many of our animals from shelters and rescue groups

4 Paws for Ability not only serves the needs of people with disabilities, but they also work to reduce the number of unwanted animals who would otherwise be destroyed by obtaining the majority of our animals from shelters and rescue groups.

LEARN MORE ABOUT 4 Paws for Ability

Meet a golden retriever named Tuesday who is helping an Iraq war veteran with severe post-traumatic stress in a The Wall Street Journal story, ‘Sit! Stay! Snuggle!’: An Iraq Vet Finds His Dog Tuesday .

As a “Seeing Eye dog for the mind,” Tuesday is a psychiatric-service dog trained to help Luis Carlos Montalvan, a retired Army captain who received a Purple Heart for wounds he suffered during an ambush in Iraq, with his unseen injuries. Tuesday, who is with Montalvan 24-7, has been taught to recognize the effects of post-traumatic stress Disorder, such as changes in his breathing, perspiration or scent that can indicate an imminent panic attack.

Tuesday is one of 11 psychiatric-service dogs Puppies Behind Bars Inc. has placed. It hopes to provide 14 more this year. Tuesday was eight weeks old when he and five siblings were turned over to Puppies Behind Bars. He was sent to New York’s Fishkill Correctional Facility.

John Pucci, a 64-year-old convicted killer who served 29 years, who trained Tuesday, taught the pup to respond to 82 commands geared toward helping the physically disabled – turning on lights with his nose, retrieving food from shelves, helping load washing machines. After that,Tuesday received additional training, based on Montalvan’s needs – such as reminding him to take his pills, and serving as a buffer when Montalvan gets stressed out by large crowds.

“Tuesday is just extraordinarily empathetic,” said Montalvan, 36. “In bad moments, he’ll lay his head on my leg, and it’’ll be like he’s saying, ‘You’re OK. You’re not alone.’”

READ THE FULL STORY: ‘Sit! Stay! Snuggle!’: An Iraq Vet Finds His Dog Tuesday

The award-winning Prescription Pet Program (also known as RxPets) is a dog-assisted therapy and visitation program which began in 1984 as a cooperative effort of The Children’s Hospital and the Denver Area Veterinary Medical Society (DAVMS). Specially-trained volunteer dog owners take their dogs on rounds at The Children’s Hospital.

In 1978, Fern Bechtel, director of Volunteers at The Children’s Hospital, saw the positive effects of pet visitation on her son as he recovered from extensive surgery. She determined that the kids at The Children’s Hospital would benefit from a similar program and began to work toward that goal. Bechtel teamed up with hospital staff and veterinarians to establish the first dog visitation protocols.

In 1984, the first dog visited the kids at The Children’s Hospital (one dog, 20 visits to the oncology unit) under close supervision of medical staff. The pet program grew steadily. In 1990, the program received the American Hospital Award for Volunteer Excellence (HAVE). This was the first time an animal-assisted program received the award.

The Prescription Pet Program is such a popular program that there currently is a waiting list of pet volunteers for the program. But to learn more on how you can become involved in The Children’s Hospital Prescription Pet program or other volunteer opportunities, please contact the Volunteer Office at 720-777-6887.

LEARN MORE ABOUT Prescription Pet Program

Freedom Service Dogs, Inc. rescues dogs from shelters and trains each dog to assist people with disabilities. The custom trained service dogs assist their partners in day-to-day activities providing their human companions with a greater degree of independence and an overall higher quality of life.

FSD was founded in 1987 as a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization by Mike and P.J. Roche. Both Mike and P.J. were active with Assistance Dogs International (ADI) when the assistance dog industry was in its infancy. The Roche’s worked diligently to transform FSD from a two person “mom and pop shop” to an organization that stands on its own merits. Since its inception, FSD has successfully paired more than 100 client-service dog teams in Colorado.

One way that you can help is to donate something from their wishlist, including:
* Automobile pet barriers
* 12 amp upright vacuum cleaners
* Large new (or near new) crates for 50-90 lb. dogs
* Agility equipment
* Raised or elevated dog beds (25-30)
* Music/Sound CD’s: Classical Music, Wilderness/Beach/Bird Sounds, Meditation
* Gift Cards: Target, Walmart, Petsmart, Lowes, etc.
* Large or X-Large Kongs
* 6 ft. leather leashes
* Premier Easy Walk Harnesses (M/ML/L)
* 16″ and 18″ flat buckle collars
* Flat fleece dog beds
* Low sodium chicken or beef broth
* Copy paper
… and more

Or you can help by attending a Colorado Avalanche – St. Louis Blues hockey game on Sunday, April 12. It’s the final home game for the Av’s 2008-’09 season and it’s Fan Appreciation Day. Best of all you get a discount on the ticket and a portion of the proceeds come to Freedom Service Dogs. Click here for details

LEARN MORE ABOUT Freedom Service Dogs

The other day one of Leaving Our Mark’s followers, Kids Are Heroes and Gabe O’Neill on Twitter alerted me to a 13-year-old boy in Denver, CO named Mark who has a little brother with Type 1 diabetes. They have a service dog named Red that alerts when Jason’s blood sugar gets too high or too low.

Mark helps other families acquire, train and manage similar dogs for this same situation. He has helped quite a few families across the country and in Canada. Mark and his family started Red Alert Dogs for Diabetics (R.A.D.D.) to help these families.

And now there are two families in particular that Mark and his mom need extra help with:

- Five-year-old Ayla is from Oregon. She has Type 1 diabetes. She and her family are being evicted from their apartment because of their service dog, who is suffering from cancer. Mark’s mother is asking that someone donate a golden retriever puppy to replace this dog.

- A 13-year-old girl named Katie-Jane from Denton, TX, has a German Shepherd that is also a diabetic alert dog. This dog is a natural when it comes to this activity. Unfortunately, it has a severe case of hip displaysia and needs an operation desperately.

You can read more about Ayla and Katie-Jane on Gabe’s blog.

LEARN MORE ABOUT Red Alert Dogs for Diabetics

Kelly, a friend and great advocate for dogs, told me about another awesome program and person who is leaving her mark and helping dogs and people.

The C.A.R.E.S (Canine Assisted Reduction of Eventful Stress) program assists trauma victims to recover in a unique and special way with the assistance of specially trained therapy dogs. This program’s two-and four-legged teams work to break down barriers to enable victims to work through emotional trauma towards recovery. In 2007, Westminster Police Department Victim Services Unit implemented C.A.R.E.S. as one of its program services.

Specially trained dogs, under the direction of a Victim Advocate handler, are utilized in the event of a major traumatic incident or crime to assist traumatized victims or witnesses in coping, and communicating the facts of the event.

C.A.R.E.S. is the inspiration of Colorado resident, Carolyn Corbett. Carolyn’s own personal experience as a domestic violence survivor led her to partner with her own Golden Retriever, Catiee, and work together to obtain the necessary training to become a registered Delta Society Therapy team.

VISIT C.A.R.E.S. WEBSITE

The nonprofit group’s teams of volunteers and their dogs regularly visit children in crisis nurseries, domestic violence shelters, group homes and homeless shelters in the Phoenix, Arizona and Tucson, Arizona. Their mission is to deliver healing pet therapy to abused, neglected and at-risk children, nurturing their ability to love and trust, thereby freeing them from the cycle of violence

Gabriel’s Angels began eight years ago when Pam Gaber and her then one-year-old Weimaraner, Gabriel, first visited the Crisis Nursery in Phoenix. Pam saw the overwhelming need to reach as many children as possible based on the undeniable bond created between the children and Gabriel on that first day. After more visits by Pam and Gabriel, both the on-site caregivers and social workers confirmed that the children were becoming more empathetic and nurturing to one another.

Visit Gabriel’s Angels