My Fire Hydrant

From the bottom of my heart I want to thank every veteran out there for their service to our country! God bless all our service men and women—active and retire—and keep them safe.

Veteran’s Day is the perfect time to mention two groups that provide amazing services for our vets Canine Companions for Independence/Wounded Veteran Initiative and America’s Vet Dogs. Both groups offer assistance dogs to veterans free of charge.

Hug a vet today! And consider sending some donation dollars to Canine Companions and/or America’s Vet Dogs, in honor of our vets.

More from America’s Vet Dogs:

More from Canine Companions for Independence:

In the USA, July 4 means fireworks, picnics, and a celebration of Independence Day. It seems fitting that on July 4 Canine Companions for Independence will celebrate 35 years of helping people with disabilities achieve independence.

“Exceptional Dogs for Exceptional People”

Canine Companions provides assistance dogs to aid people with disabilities—absolutely free of charge. This is such a wonderful idea that I think it needs repeating: They provide assistance dogs for FREE! (Read more about how to apply for an assistance dog.)

Founded in 1975, Canine Companions is headquartered in Santa Rosa, California with regional training centers located in Delaware, Ohio; Medford, New York; Orlando, Florida; and Oceanside, California. In addition, there are satellite offices in Chicago and Colorado Springs. (Read more about their history.)

Funding

Did you know, it costs over $45,000 for each assistance dog? This covers:

• Birth
• Training (including the human partner)
• Customized follow-up with the graduates
• And the retirement of the dog.

All of this is free of charge to the person with disability thanks to funding provided by contributions, gifts, grants and ongoing fundraising. (Read more about donating.)

“Help is a Four-Legged Word”

Canine Companions trains 4-types of assistance dogs for people with disabilities:

• Service Dogs, for adults
• Skilled Companions, usually for children
• Hearing Dogs, for deaf and hard of hearing
• Facility Dogs, who work in hospitals and similar places

These dogs are Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers or crosses of the two. (Read more about the dogs.)

It’s All About the Dog

Not every dog is cut out to be an assistance dog. Regrettably, out of a thousand shelter dogs, you might find one or two who could be trained as effective assistance dogs. To insure the greatest possible success, Canine Companions maintains an extensive and detailed Breeding Program. Dogs chosen are intensively evaluated and carefully selected for:

• Temperament
• Trainability
• Health
• Physical attributes
• Littermate trends
• Dam/sire history

But It’s Also About the People

Partnering with the folks at Canine Companions on the journey to providing extraordinary assistance dogs are the volunteers who act as Breeder Caretakers and Puppy Raisers.

There are approximately 149 Breeder Caretakers, and they must live within 90 miles of the Santa Rosa HQ. These folks provide homes for Canine Companions’ breeder dogs. Breeder Caretakers must live close to Santa Rosa because Canine Companions has its own veterinary clinic, where all their dogs receive veterinary care. Close proximity is also important because of the Breeding Program. (Read more about Breeder Caretakers.)

There are approximately 1013 puppy raisers who live all over the United States. They socialize Canine Companions’ puppies and train them in obedience. (Read more about Puppy Raisers.)

At their Regional Training Centers, Canine Companions employs professional trainers who have completed a required 3-year apprentice trainer program.

Lastly, there are the applicants and graduates—the exceptional people for whom these exceptional dogs are being trained. These folks are all looking for ways to reach their next level of independence and excellence. A Canine Companions’ assistance dog is the partner who will help them to do just that!

Timeline for an Assistance Dog

• Birth to 8-weeks: Puppies live with mom and the Breeder Caretaker family where they are socialized to both canines and humans.
• 8-weeks to 15-months: Each puppy moves from mom to a new (and temporary) home with a Puppy Raiser where they are further socialized and learn basic obedience.
• 15-months to approximately 21/24 months: Puppies return to one of Canine Companions’ Regional Training Centers where they are examined for health and temperament then enter a 6- or 9-month training program with professional trainers.
• The last 2 weeks of training, the young adult dog is matched up with their human partner and both are trained together.
• 6-weeks after graduation: Graduates (human and canine) return to the Training Center for fine-tuning of their skills.
• Working life of the dog: A comprehensive follow-up system ensures the ongoing success of the canine/human team.

At any time, due to a variety of reasons, puppies and dogs might be released from the assistance dog program or retired from their work as assistance dogs. They are then adopted by Puppy Raisers, the person the dog was partnered with, or other people associated with Canine Companions. Some released puppies might also find a career with another service agency like Drug Enforcement or Border Patrol. (Read more about training).

The Wounded Veteran Initiative

I can’t celebrate Independence Day without also remembering and being grateful to the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces (I am an Air Force brat, after all) and whose job it is to protect our nation.

Canine Companions serves our Armed Forces through their Wounded Veteran Initiative, which provides assistance dogs to veterans who have been wounded in combat. (Read more about the Wounded Veteran Initiative)

My Visit to Canine Companions

During the first week of June, I was lucky to be a part of the Eukanuba photo and video shoot which took place at the headquarters of Canine Companions in Santa Rosa, California. I met some incredible people and got to play with some extraordinary (and adorable) puppies! But that’s another blog post……

Happy Birthday U.S.A.

and

Canine Companions for Independence!!

On July 4, Canine Companions for Independence will celebrate 35 years of providing assistance dogs for people with disabilities free of charge. As part of the celebration, they’re hosting an essay contest asking people how their dog has changed their life. Submission deadline is July 4, and the winner will get a free year of Eukanuba Dog Food!

To enter, or for more details, visit the contest page on the Canine Companion’s site.

 And be sure to check back here on July 4 when I will be posting about my recent trip to Santa Rosa, CA—headquarters for Canine Companions!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been in San Francisco this week. I’m leaving this charming city in just a few hours to fly to Phoenix–I feel like such a jet-setter!

To back up a little: We (myself and teammates Julie and Tina) were supposed to fly out of Dayton on Monday night. But storms in Chicago canceled our flight. I ended up flying out at 5:20 AM on Tuesday. Tina was able to get a flight out of Cincinnati–but didn’t get into San Francisco until the very wee hours of the morning. Julie was not able to get into San Francisco until Tuesday evening.

Because we ended up traveling separately, I had to rent a car to get to my final destination (Santa Rosa, north of  San Francisco). Everything in the line of rental cars was either white, silver or taupe–except for one RED car!! Guess which one I picked!

We’ve been here in San Francisco because of a photo shoot at Canine Companions for Independence (more about that in another post coming soon). I spent Tuesday and Wednesday watching a brilliant video team headed by Brandon Jameson shoot videos of these amazing assistance dogs and the people who train them and partner with them.

On Wednesday I was also able to observe a fantastic photographer, Mark Rogers, as he brought out the best side of these extraordinary pups. He and I were able to grab a couple of minutes to talk about how to get the best pet photos–and that will be another post coming soon!

Canine Companions is located in Santa Rosa, about an hour and a half north of San Francisco. I spent yesterday (Thursday) in San Francisco visiting old friends and making new ones–again, more to come in a later post.

As soon as I finish with this post, I’ll be on my way to Phoenix. Look for another post sometime this evening. I’ve got a surprise coming!!!

Two years later, our office felt empty because we had recently lost our longtime V.P. of Canine Communications, Kersey (a beautiful and loving Golden Retriever). So we formed a small group to find our next Canine Communications employee. At the time, our Eukanuba team was working with a canine assistance organization in Quebec named MIRA on a project to celebrate canine assistance teams and the importance of Eukanuba nutrition for assistance dog performance.

We saw an opportunity to include MIRA as a possible source for our next Canine Communications Specialist. They suggested we look into their “flunkie program” of dogs who did not quite have what it takes for assistance work, but who would make wonderful companions. Kuna was one of these dogs.

Kuna found herself with the “flunkie” designation for having “bonding issues.” Kuna got too attached to her designated human training companion and sometimes lost focus on her job as a service animal. This flaw could be dangerous for someone depending on Kuna as their canine assistance companion.

The folks at MIRA thought Kuna would be perfect as Canine Communications Specialist for Iams/Eukanuba. After a couple of visits to meet Kuna our search team agreed, and we began the adoption process which included giving Kuna a new name. We decided to call her Euka.

And so Euka became our second Canine Communications Specialist. Her main duty involves “dogging” her post in the lobby of our head quarters in Dayton Ohio. She is responsible for greeting all guests and making them feel at home. Her “office” area includes a bed, toy bin (with toys), and other essentials. She was officially introduced at a company quarterly meeting where she received an enormous round of applause (so loud that it probably frightened her!). We were very excited to have a Canine Communications Specialist in the lobby again!

Within her first year, Euka was performing with excellence at her lobby post, and her role was rapidly expanding. By the end of 2004, Euka was promoted to Vice President of Canine Communications for The Iams Company and appeared Fortune Magazine with P&G CEO A.G. Lafley.

Euka continues to showcase her innate skills to bond with people and connect with all that meet her. She maintains a weekday work schedule. She often visits assisted living centers and hospitals to brighten the days of adults and children alike, and she regularly attends events like:

• Take Your Dog to Work Day
• Take Your Child to Work Day
• The P&G Annual Shareholders Meeting
• The P&G Annual Summer Intern Orientation at the P&G Global Offices
• Different marketing executions
• Dog Park Grand Openings
• Shelter ground breakings
• Pet oriented fundraisers
• Parades, as Grand Marshall (including the Bark at the Park with the Cincinnati Reds)

We have so many testimonials that reflect on the joy our partners and

friends feel when Euka welcomes them to P&G Pet Care or attends an event. In fact, they never fail to voice their disappointment when Euka is out of the office.

We could not be more thankful for how Euka has enhanced our lives. She represents more than a quirky title or role. She brings our mission, vision and company principle values to life everyday.

Happy Birthday, sweet Euka! May you have many, many more!