Meet SSD Parks

Meet SSD Parks! She’s part of the American Heroes litter and named after Rosa Parks. Right now, she’s finishing up her first week of Team Training with her new partner!

For the past two years, she has lived with her puppy raiser family. Her puppy raiser Kali describes her as “smart, a workaholic, sassy, spunky, determined, playful, and lovable!” Parks loves to play with squeaky balls and any treat-dispensing toys. 

Although Parks loves all food, some of her favorite power treats are sweet potato puffs and goldfish. One of her all-time favorite foods is peanut butter!

Although she has been in advanced training since November, she still returned home to her puppy raisers on most weekends and holidays. Just because she was in advanced training didn’t mean her puppy raisers didn’t have to continue working with her. They working on extending the duration of several cues, such as “lap” (resting two legs in a person’s lap) and “visit” (resting her head on the person’s hand or lap), and worked on easy treat taking. Even though they still did some training, Parks got plenty of time to relax, play, and of course, catch some Zs.

Advanced training can be tiring for the dogs, no matter how well-adjusted they are to life at the kennel. “One day after picking Parks up from advanced training, we stopped at the store and left her in the car since she was so tired,” said Kali. “When we got back, she was in the passenger seat where I sit. I opened the door, and she would not budge. I pushed her and tried to pick her up. All she did was look up at me with those puppy dog eyes. Guess who rode in the back seat the whole way home?”

Recently, Parks and Kali walked in the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community. Parks did fantastic! They also traveled to Washington, D.C., where Parks rode the Metro and got her picture taken with the newly unveiled statue of her namesake, Rosa Parks. 

If there’s one thing Kali would like Parks’ new partner to know, it’s that Parks will never give up. “She will work until you stop. She’s full of love and energy!”