HERE. - National Service Dogs

Fall 2015
The NSD Scoop
Our PTSD Program is
on the Move!
PTSD service dog programming to British Columbia and Alberta this Fall and will support the ongoing work in Ontario.
The support from Wounded Warriors Canada has made it
possible for NSD to increase the reach and impact of this life
-changing program to veterans across the country.
NSD Program Manager, Tamara Leniew, with Philip C.
Ralph, CD, BTh, MDiv, National Program Director,
Wounded Warriors Canada.
“PTSD is a local issue, a provincial issue, a national issue
and an international issue,” notes NSD Program Manager,
Tamara Leniew. “From the time we launched our PTSD program six years ago it was very apparent that our certified
service dogs were needed on a much greater scale than we
could offer at the time. Thanks to Wounded Warriors Canada
we are now able to provide our program to vets in B.C. and
Alberta. We know this program will be the answer for so
many veterans who are struggling and we cannot wait to get
started!”
Phil Ralph, Wounded Warriors Canada National Program
Director, commented, “We are proud to partner with National
Service Dogs. Since 2012, our organization has donated
over $600,000 in support of Animal Assisted Therapy for
We were so proud to announce our partnership with Wound- PTSD and we remain committed to doing what we can to
ed Warriors Canada this July and accept their generous sup- help pair these incredible service dogs with ill and injured
port of $50,000 to expand National Service Dogs’ Certified
Canadian Forces members, Veterans and First Responders
Service Dogs for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
across the country”.
program in support of ill and injured Canadian Armed Forces
members, Veterans and First Responders.
For more information about National Service Dogs visit:
www.nsd.on.ca
Until now the program has been limited to Ontario. Funding
For more information about Wounded Warriors Canada visit:
from Wounded Warriors Canada will be used to expand our www.woundedwarriors.ca
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www.nsd.on.ca
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Charitable Registration No. 898029228 RR0001
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The NSD Ride
Mark your Calendar July 10, 2016!
Sponsored and road-captained by the 1st CAV, GulfKuwait Unit, the 10th annual NSD Ride was a day of
food, friendship and fun. We appreciate the on-going
support of the 1st CAV, volunteers, puppy raisers and of
course, all the riders and their passengers who contributed to this fantastic day. Special thanks to the Caledon Ski Club, Medieval Times, Savannah and Cambridge Golf Clubs for contributing the prizes to help us
thank our highest pledge earners and to Pillers, Westons and Frito Lay for ensuring a great barbecue lunch.
On July 12, 2015, over $7000 was raised to train and
place Certified Service Dogs for PTSD with veterans
who need them.
A service dog’s journey to certification begins two years
earlier with the commitment of his puppy raiser and
monetary support from his puppy sponsor. One month
old, NSD Mellish, puppy-in-training, born on August 4,
2015 has been sponsored by Ryan Pagnacco, 1st CAV
member and friend of NSD, in honour of his Warrant
Officer, Frank Mellish.
Operational Stress Injury I have personally been dealing with since deployment, and, as such, I understand
the importance of the NSD program for PTSD... especially after talking to a few veterans who have benefited
directly from the program. As for choosing the name;
WO Mellish exemplified true leadership, and represented the very essence of professional soldiering. He has
been an inspiration in my life since deployment; it
seemed only fitting... regardless of whether or not NSD
Mellish ends up being an Autism dog or a PTSD dog; I
know he will be a great leader and protector. Being
able to contribute to NSD this way is very important to
me for many reasons.” Thank you Ryan for your support of one of our newest superstars and for your ongoing support of NSD!
The organizing committee for next year’s Ride will be
meeting at the end of September. If you’d like to join
the committee or are able to help with promotion and
prize collection, please contact [email protected]
Judy Frank, Fundraising Coordinator
Frank was killed in combat 9 years ago on September
3, during Operation Medusa. On September 4, Ryan
was wounded in a Friendly Fire incident which also
claimed the life of Pte. Mark Graham, and wounded 38
others from his Company (Charles Company, 1
RCR). In Ryan’s words, “These incidents, along with
other experiences on my short tour, contributed to the
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Fundraising & Friend-raising
David Hare Memorial Golf Tournament
Third Party Fundraisers
Friends of NSD raise funds and spread awareness at
so many events throughout the year. The Southern
Cruisers Riding Club, held their annual Jelly Bean Ride
for NSD in August, wrapping up their ride with a barbecue at NSD headquarters. The Juno Riders have just
announced the charity ride they held in the Trenton area on NSD’s behalf in the Spring will now be an annual
ride. Thank you Riders! It is impossible to mention all
the fundraisers held by our corporate friends and service clubs, but we are so thankful to each of you who
have helped get specially trained dogs to the people
who need them by hosting your own fundraiser on
NSD’s behalf. Thank you!
David Hare’s life was tragically cut short as a result of a
plane crash in Resolute Bay on August 20, 2011. David
Hare was a professional pilot, who left behind his wife,
Jane and three beautiful daughters; Lily, Adelyn and
Genevieve. David was a shining star in the lives of all
who knew him and it is the Hare Family’s hope that
their annual memorial golf tournament will bring together friends, family and members of the community to
celebrate Dave’s life and to support the angels he left
behind. His family has chosen National Service Dogs
as their charity of choice to receive the proceeds from
the annual David Hare Memorial Golf Tournament.
They chose NSD … “because it encompasses Dave
and his family’s love for these amazing intelligent dogs
and the special services they provide. Jane presently
deals with autistic kids in her work as an Occupational
Therapist.” We are saddened by this family’s tremendous loss and appreciate that they have included NSD
in their celebration of Dave’s extraordinary life.
The Hare Family has chosen to sponsor Ethan, a
young boy from Kitchener who received NSD Tala,
Certified Service Dog for Autism in May, 2015. If you
are a golfer, please join the Hare Family on September
19 and help them reach their goal of $10,000, as they
continue their sponsorship of Ethan and NSD Tala.
More information and registration here. If you are not a
golfer, you can help Lily, Adelyn and Genevieve reach
their goal by making a donation here.
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NSD was invited to participate in the Muddy Paws
Wine Festival, hosted by Featherstone Estates Winery,
with partial proceeds donated to NSD. After a successful inaugural festival, Featherstone has asked us to
participate again next year. Mark your calendar for the
weekend of July 10, 2016 for a relaxing day of jazz and
wine that you can enjoy with your best furry friend. (We
know our many puppy-raisers who enjoyed the festival
with their puppies-in-training will be marking this one on
their calendar.) Thank you Featherstone!
Although our clients do not have to fundraise, we are
so appreciative of those who do. We have had fundraisers in the West this summer and in the East and
many in between. A variety show, raffles, dog treat
sales, bake sales, golf tournaments, all arranged on
our behalf. Thank you NSD clients and families! It
must be difficult to find the time with the special demands of your own families and we appreciate all you
are doing to raise funds and spread the word!
NSD participated at the 10th annual OPP Family Fun
Day in London. Visitors enjoyed meeting NSD Tandy
and puppies-in-training NSD Ameira and NSD Frannie.
We learned about police service dogs and watched a
demonstration of their skills. NSD Tandy proved that
even police service dogs are dogs first, as police dog,
Ricon was distracted by Tandy’s striking good looks.
Thank you to the OPP Provincial Communications
Centre for including us in your family fun day and raising over $1200 for the PTSD program!
Judy Frank, Fundraising Coordinator
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Breeding Program Update
Valley, a Lab - Golden Retriever cross from the Equoia
and Tommee breeding, is a recent addition to the
breeding program. Valley has found herself being
placed with new caretakers Kathy and Chuck Buckwell. Kathy and Chuck are also her puppy sponsors;
she is named after a very dear friend. Valley should be
bred in the fall and puppies may be born around November.
DeeJay, our black Labrador Retriever, will retire in the
fall and remain with his caretaker Tracie Funston in
London. DeeJay is eight and a half so the time has
come to retire him. DeeJay is the father of a few of our
earlier puppies who did well in the program. He soon
became related to so many of our purebred Labradors
and couldn’t be used as much as we would have liked.
With the summer almost over Frodo had her litter of
eight puppies, two males and six females. Dart is now
a proud Papa. All sleek and shiny, these are a beautiful bundle of future service dogs. It’s too soon to say if
any will be long coated since Dart should carry that
gene. With Frodo being Golden Retriever there is that
chance that some will resemble large black long coated retrievers. These will be entering the puppy raiser
program around early-mid September
NSD Golden Retriever brood female Tali is ready to
start dating Dart and if successful puppies would be
due around mid to late October.
Dolly our Lab - Bernese mix, from the Missy and Oscar
D litter, has recently passed her hip clearances and we
await the result of her elbow clearances. Her heart and
eyes were perfect so just one more hurdle to get
through. If successful Dolly will remain with her caretaker, Donna Arnold.
Our breeding program is expanding and there is always a need for puppy raisers. If you would like to apply or just have some questions, please contact
[email protected] or 519-623-4188 ext. 18.
Garry Stephenson, Breeding & Puppy Program
Manager
Back to School Tip
Fall marks the return of children to school. Crayons, markers, pencils, glue, and other school supplies will soon be strewn about the house. Make
sure that these supplies are not in any place
where your dog or cat can get a hold of them.
Markers and glue can be toxic to pets, and there is
always the possibility of choking on small objects.
Remind your children to help keep your home furry
friend safe!
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Puppy Program Update
Our fall puppy outings are about to begin. These will
be group outings where we will be assessing the puppies’ skills and obedience behaviours while we are out
in public venues such as malls. While socialization for
our puppies begins at an early age, these classes are
for the older puppies so we can assess and guide the
puppy raisers on service dog etiquette. Basic
obedience, food refusal and animal distraction are all
part of the assessment. These are lots of fun but also
lots of hard work to keep the puppies on track.
With our recent influx of home bred puppies joining the
program earlier this year, the H, I, J, K and L litters
have made wonderful progress. Typical challenges are
bright puppies trying to outwit both experienced and
inexperienced raisers. With less than 7 weeks between
the H litter to the L litter, it’s amazing to see the different stages they go through. At just 5 months old the H
litter are already looking and acting like adults….old
heads on young shoulders. Meanwhile some of the
newer puppy raisers are wondering if raising was such
a good idea. Yes it’s hard work learning to be leaders
and having to exhibit tough love, especially when the
puppy is so cute, but those formative weeks in the beginning will pave the road to success.
unwanted behaviours. Meanwhile the puppies don’t
have to try to outwit, it just is their nature. Fortunately
as trainers we can control the food and food usually
motivates the puppy into offering good behaviour. If we
reward the dog for doing well the chances are he will
offer that good behaviour.
Health tip
As the weather begins to cool down watch out for insects that sting and bite. Yellow jackets, bees and spiders are more likely to react when they are drowsy so
always have some antihistamine at hand and know the
correct dosage for your dog’s weight.
Fall is the time when mice and suchlike start to look for
warmer homes so if you have a problem make sure
any poison is well out of reach or maybe consider live
traps or other methods of preventing an infestation.
Remember even a poisoned dead mouse can be a
problem to your dog if it’s consumed.
Enjoy the rest of the warm weather.
Garry Stephenson, Breeding & Puppy Program
Manager
It’s hard to imagine that something so young can have
such intelligence. It has to be said that much of it has
little to do with intelligence and more to do with the
puppy being hard-wired to get the best out of life for
himself. From the moment they are born a puppy’s
mission is to find the teat with the most milk, the
warmest spot in the nest and to jostle his nest mates to
get where he wants to be. This doesn’t change when
we place the puppies in raiser homes. In fact the challenge starts all over again but this time it’s the raiser
who has to be one step ahead if they’re to become
leaders. Some puppies are very determined to get
what they want, more food, more attention, more playtime, more of doing what they want and if not guided
they will become masters at controlling situations. For
some experienced raisers this is nothing new and they
take it all in their stride but for new raisers it’s like
learning to drive. Trying to juggle loose leashes, have
the food reward ready and recognize what the puppy
may do next before it does it. It takes a lot of
concentration to be one step ahead and to pre-empt
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A message from our ED
Meet our Board of Directors
As a registered Canadian charity, National Service
Dogs is overseen by a volunteer Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is the legal authority for
National Service Dogs (NSD). As a member of the
board, a director acts in a position of trust for the community and is responsible for the effective governance
of the organization. They must be willing to place
NSD’s purpose and interests above their own professional and personal interests when making board decisions.
wish him all the best in his new endeavours. If you are
interested in more information on the NSD board
please visit www.nsd.on.ca
Volunteer Appreciation
We look forward to celebrating the valued contributions
of our volunteers this Fall. Planning is currently underway, and more details will be available shortly. Stay
tuned to our website and Facebook pages for details.
Danielle Forbes, Executive Director and Co-Founder
Directors sign on for a two year term and are responsible for the stewardship of NSD, providing independent,
effective leadership to supervise the management of
National Service Dogs’ business and financial affairs in
order for it to grow in a profitable and sustainable manner.
Key areas of focus for the board are leadership, Executive Director succession planning and management
oversight, ethics and integrity, risk management and
financial oversight.
Board members dedicate approximately 10 hours per
month to NSD and meet 6-7 times per year. NSD‘s annual general meeting is held each June and is open to
the general public. For the 2015-2016 board year the
NSD Board of Directors is comprised of the following
members:
Alison Archambault – President
Graham Hunt – Vice President and Treasurer
Gina McDonnell – Past President
Julie Warren - Director
Warren Barlow – Director
Walter Wisotzki – Director
Sara Armstrong- Director
Sarah Heiser-Foleanu – Director
Welcome back Vicki! Sorry to see you go, Karina!
We are so happy to welcome back our friend and colleague, Vicki Zettler, Trainer/Instructor, after her maternity leave this past year. Vicki’s dedication and steady
presence were truly missed by everyone here. Vicki,
so glad to have you back!
We bid a fond farewell to our friend Karina Weber, who
begins her courses at Conestoga College this Fall.
Karina could always be counted on to help out where
she was needed, especially with puppy sitting. We’ll
miss you as well as your furry gang, including NSD
Finnegan, Daya, and Urban. Best of luck and visit
soon!
Special Advisors to the Board:
Dr. Jackie Bowcott
Andrew Sprague
On behalf of everyone at NSD we wish to thank Yvan
Bertrand for his service to the board and NSD and we
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Thank you!
The NSD Scoop is a quarterly publication released on the 15th day of September, December, March, and
June. If you would like to submit an article or suggestion, please contact [email protected]
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