Service Dogs

May 4, 2013

Canine Companions For Independence Facility Dog Waffle At The Denver VA Medical Center

, , Service Dogs

 Canine Companions for Independence Facility Dog Waffle - Denver VAMC

Canine Companions for Independence Facility Dog Waffle – Denver VAMC

I haven’t posted here for a long time, and I may have more to say about that in the future, but for right now I just want to share this great new picture with you.

Canine Companions for Independence Facility Dog Waffle, who’s been working at the Denver VA Medical Center since February, received her official photo yesterday.

I’ve talked a lot about Facility Dogs, and, sadly, there are very few in military or VA medical facilities. We need many … Read More

Nov 28, 2012

Less Than 280 Of The 1,570+ US Military Amputees From Afghanistan And Iraq Have Lost Upper Limbs

, , , , Service Dogs, Veterans

Cpl. Sebastian Gallegos of the Marines received pioneering surgery that is intended to simplify the use of prosthetic arms. Todd Heisler/The New York Times

“The Hard Road Back: Learning to Accept, and Master, a $110,000 Mechanical Arm”

Very interesting NY Times article yesterday about a subject you don’t often see discussed, but that my good friend Sam Cila educated me about a long time ago.

“Of the more than 1,570 American service members who have had arms, legs, feet, or hands amputated because of injuries in Afghanistan or Iraq, fewer than 280 have lost upper limbs. Their struggles to use prosthetic limbs are in many ways far greater than for their lower-limb brethren.”

The … Read More

Nov 27, 2012

Dean Koontz EWTN Interview

Service Dogs, Video

Dean Koontz EWTN Interview

No secret that Dean Koontz is a huge Canine Companions for Independence supporter. I was flipping channels a couple nights ago and bumped into him doing this excellent recent interview on EWTN (aka The Catholic Channel – that’s what I call it, anyway). News to me – I hadn’t heard about the interview before, so thought it might be news to others as well, and so I’m posting it here.

The interview is an hour long and he mostly talks about things he’s discussed many times … Read More

Nov 23, 2012

Help On Four Legs – Another Great Site

Link, Service Dogs

Alex Wegman and her Canine Companions for Independence Service Dog Bright

I started reading an outstanding blog recently that others had already discovered and I want to let you know about, too:  Help On Four Legs.

Alex Wegman is a young Canine Companions for Independence graduate who went through Team Training at the Northeast Regional Center on Long Island in November 2011 where she was matched with her service dog Bright.

I always like reading CCI graduate blogs, but, understandably, even they don’t always address some of the things Alex does, and her writing stands out even among that crowd. … Read More

Nov 21, 2012

“The Class of 2013 Continues To Grow, We Have Seen 2500 Dogs To Find The 9 We Have So Far”

, Service Dogs, Standard

Texas Hearing and Service Dogs candidate dog Houston.

“The class of 2013 continues to grow, we have seen 2500 dogs to find the 9 we have so far!”

I was glad to see the above post a few days ago from Texas Hearing and Service Dogs on their Facebook page, because it puts some hard numbers you rarely see to a somewhat controversial subject that I’ve talked about a little in the past and about which there are some misconceptions.

Namely, Canine Companions for Independence and other organizations who breed some or all of their dogs take a … Read More

Nov 1, 2012

Major Canine Companions For Independence Milestone – 4000th Assistance Dog Team Graduates Next Week

Service Dogs

Canine Companions for Independence North Central Region Graduation

“Philanthropy Friday: Canine Companions” by Nick George, The Columbus Foundation

Canine Companions for Independence National Graduation Day is a week from tomorrow – next Friday, November 9th.

That’s significant, first, because all five regional centers will hold their graduations on the same day, which is unusual to begin with – sometimes they are a week apart or on the same weekend with some on Friday and some on Saturday.

Even more significant, though, is that CCI will graduate its 4000th assistance dog team.

My understanding is there won’t be a … Read More

Oct 22, 2012

“Caleb The Seeing Eye Dog… Say Wha?”

, , Link, Service Dogs

Michael Chasse with his Canine Companions for Independence service dog Caleb

Mike Chasse is a Canine Companions for Independence graduate in Maine I’ve mentioned before (“The Super Dog Is… Caleb!”) who makes a tremendous point today – in his usual funny way by telling a story about an encounter with a little girl in the grocery store – about the “huge responsibility of being a handy-capable person with a service dog” (“Caleb the Seeing Eye dog… Say Wha?“):

I think all of us who benefit from this tremendous bond, the companionship of these animals that

… Read More

Oct 21, 2012

Bet You Have No Idea Just How Low The Bar Is To Say Your Dog Is A Service Dog – Repost With Update

, , , Service Dogs, Standard

I’ve been getting a lotta questions lately along the same line: “How do I get my dog certified as a service dog?”

Not surprising given the increasing interest in service dogs in general, especially among veterans and their families, plus the vast amount of misinformation that floats around about this subject, some of it from official sources, which is very disappointing to me.

For example, just a few days ago I read an official Air Force story that contained numerous references to “certifying” a service dog, including this direct quote … Read More

Oct 9, 2012

“We’re Not A Dog Organization, We’re A People Organization”

Service Dogs, Standard

Apprentice instructor Courtney Wannarka trains Rutherford, a two-year-old Labrador, to become a service dog at the Canine Companions for Independence campus in Santa Rosa, Calif. on Wednesday, May 11, 2011. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle / SF

Apprentice instructor Courtney Wannarka trains Rutherford, a two-year-old Labrador, to become a service dog at the Canine Companions for Independence campus in Santa Rosa, Calif. on Wednesday, May 11, 2011. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle / SF

This little SFGate article (“What I Do: Courtney Wannarka, service-dog trainer”) I read a year and a half ago is still a favorite with me, and for one reason – this quote:

We like to say “We’re not a dog organization, we’re a people organization,” and it’s really true. Obviously, the

… Read More

Oct 7, 2012

The Oversimplified Guide To Getting A Service Dog

Service Dogs, Standard

Wounded US Army veteran Jeff Adams and his Canine Companions for Independence Service Dog Sharif.

Wounded US Army veteran Jeff Adams and his Canine Companions for Independence Service Dog Sharif. “Taking Action: Volunteers Needed To Raise Service Dogs”

I probably should’ve written this post a thousand times and haven’t, mostly because I can always hear people already saying “it’s not that simple.”

It isn’t, and yet it is – hence the title of this post. Here goes:

1. Decide what you want a service dog to do for you.

2. Decide where you will get the dog – an organization, individual trainer, or do-it-yourself.

3. … Read More

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 »