Congratulations to the Finnegan family, the April Volunteer
of the Month!
The Finnegans have been volunteering with Susquehanna
Service Dogs since December 2017, when they began raising their first dog, SSD
Beethoven. Beethoven is now working as a detection K9 with the CIA, and the
Finnegans are raising SSD Davis, who is almost ready for advanced training, and
new puppy SSD Murtaugh.
In addition to raising puppies, they have also been sitters
and help with our 2x2 puppy sitting, where they watch two of our youngest
puppies overnight to help them acclimate to spending time away from their entire
litter.
The family got involved with SSD when daughter Erin was a
young Girl Scout and a group of volunteers raising guide dogs visited her
troop. “From that moment on, I knew I had to help in some way,” said Erin.
She searched for a local organization and found SSD. “We as
a family have never been happier to be part of something so special and helpful
for the community,” she said. “We love the positivity surrounding it all. SSD
feels like one big family that we are all a part of, and we’re there to help
each other out.”
Thank you to the Finnegan family for volunteering with SSD
and helping #DogsChangeLives!
Our volunteers collectively give over 40,000 hours per month
to raise and sit puppies, help with public training, maintain our property,
help with fundraising, and so much more! To give back to our volunteers who
give us so much, we’re recognizing a volunteer each month. Selected by random
drawing, volunteers of the month receive a gift card to local restaurants and
businesses.
Congratulations to Sue Knode, the February Volunteer of the
Month!
Our volunteers collectively give over 40,000 hours per month
to raise and sit puppies, help with public training, maintain our property,
help with fundraising and so much more! To give back to our volunteers who give
us so much, we’re recognizing a volunteer each month. Selected by random
drawing, volunteers of the month receive a gift card to local restaurants and
businesses. Thank you to Skyline Family Restaurant for donating a gift card for
February’s volunteer!
Sue has been volunteering with SSD for 13 years! She had
been volunteering at the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community and saw the
Susquehanna Service Dogs booth. She introduced herself to Nancy Fierer, our
founder, and of course, Nancy encouraged her to get involved. Sue
went home and immediately filled out the application to become a puppy sitter!
Since that day, she has filled many volunteer roles, raising
nine puppies and sitting countless dogs. She serves on the Puppy Raiser Council
and is a partner liaison, answering questions and helping partners settle in to life with their new
service dog. She assists with IFTs (In For Testing) for
our dogs in training to evaluate the dogs, helps with Team Training, gives
public access tests and retests, does demonstrations, and more.
“I love the people,” says Sue. “It’s wonderful to work with
partners and see the difference their dogs make in their lives. I appreciate
the opportunity to get to know such a diverse group of people. I’ve formed
great friendships with other volunteers, partners, and staff!”
Thank you, Sue, for everything you do for Susquehanna Service
Dogs!
Our volunteers are the backbone of everything we do at
Susquehanna Service Dogs. Collectively, they give over 40,000 hours per month to raise and sit puppies, help
with public training, maintain our property, help with fundraising, and so much
more. We mean it when we say that we couldn’t do what we do without our
volunteers.
To give back to our volunteers, we’ll be recognizing a volunteer each month. Selected by a random drawing, volunteers of the month
will receive a gift card to local restaurants or businesses. Thank you to Fabio’s Authentic Italian Restaurant in Grantville, PA for donating a gift card for
this month’s volunteers!
Congratulations to the Frank family on being the January
Volunteers of the Month!
Joel, Deb, Bethany, and Josiah have been volunteering with
Susquehanna Service Dogs for almost 5 years! They got involved after seeing a
demonstration by volunteer Betsy Smith and SSD Rossi. Bethany was interested in
raising a service dog, so they applied and have been volunteering ever since.
They’re currently raising their fourth dog!
They’ve done more than raise puppies, though. They do home
visits for new raisers and sitters and help with Team Training. They’ve been
whelpers, and have even “started” a puppy by training them for several weeks
before the pup moved on to another organization.
“We love to see the dogs when they are placed with their
partner! It makes all of the raising and training worth it!”
Thank you to the Frank family for helping #DogsChangeLives!
Sharon Stalker and her husband Brian have been raising
puppies for Susquehanna Service Dogs since 1994. We were founded in 1993, so
they’ve been volunteers from almost the very beginning. Can you guess how many puppies
they’ve raised?
19!
Back in 1994, the Stalkers had recently lost their family
dog after moving to Hershey, PA. One day, we were training puppies on campus at
the Milton Hershey School. Another houseparent at the Milton Hershey School
called to tell Sharon and Brian about us.
“I was going to go check it out,” said Sharon, “but Brian
said that I would come home with a puppy. So he went. He attended one class and
came home with a puppy!”
How do they do it? People often tell us that they would love
to raise a puppy but they’d never be able to give them up. It was really hard
for the Stalkers to let go of the first dog they raised, SSD Lily. In fact,
they had decided that they were going to wait before raising another.
Then the mother of SSD Lily’s partner called her and shared
stories about the bond between Lily and her daughter. “Her mother told me that
after going out somewhere with SSD Lily, her little girl said ‘People see me
now,’” said Sharon. “That simple statement grabbed my heart and is what keeps
me going. It’s why I’ve raised 19 SSD pups.
“It’s hard to let go," she said, "but once you meet their partner, it’s
the best feeling in the world. You’ve been part of a priceless gift that will
change their world. The pup has also changed your own life.”
We’re looking for more puppy raisers who want to make a
difference and help dogs change people’s lives. Raisers welcome a 9-week-old
puppy into their home and teach them good house manners and over 20 different
cues. They also take the dogs out in public to learn how to work in all kinds
of different environments. Learn more and apply on our website: https://www.keystonehumanservices.org/susquehanna-service-dogs/responsibilities-of-a-puppy-raiser.php
If you’re not ready to raise a puppy, you can still help our
dogs with their training! Donate to help build a new training center where our
dogs will learn skills like opening a door, picking things up, and alerting
someone for help. Give now and make a difference: http://crowdrise.com/susquehanna-capital-campaign
Guest post by Becky
Dombrowsky, SSD Lucky’s puppy raiser
SSD Lucky has now finished the first part of his service dog
training—Early Socialization Class (ESC). During ESC, he and other puppies his
age met every week for eight weeks to learn the basics of being a future
service dog. They practiced cues like “sit,” “down,” recalls, loose leash
walking, and many more. These weekly classes help give puppy raisers a strong
support system as the puppies grow and learn quickly.
At the end of those eight weeks, SSD schedules a one-on-one
meeting with the training staff called a “Walk and Talk.” Other programs
accredited by Assistance Dogs International (ADI) also use Walk and Talks to
assess their puppies in training. By using the same assessment tool, SSD is
able to collaborate with other ADI programs about puppies in training and
breeding. SSD Lucky did his first one around four months old. He’ll do another
one later in his training.
Walk and Talks take place in a neutral space, ideally
somewhere the dog is not familiar with. Lucky had his at Keystone Human
Services’ main office in Harrisburg, PA. When we arrived, Lucky demonstrated
how to safely exit a vehicle and he was given a chance to potty before entering
the building. Inside, we met Lauren Holtz, the Puppy Development Coordinator,
and a volunteer who was filming the session.
Lucky walks across new surfaces
Lauren guided us through the building, giving us
instructions as we went. Lucky was given the chance to explore the new space
without guidance from me, which gave Lauren the opportunity to see what choices
he makes on his own. These choices can be different than the choices he would
make when working with a person. There’s no correct choice.
We then demonstrated basic cues like “sit” and “down” on the
verbal and hand cues separately.
We practiced walking up and down stairs. Lucky does better
going down stairs in a controlled manner than he does going up, so we are
continuing to practice going up. Lauren reviewed the video with me after the
Walk and Talk and explained that Lucky might be pulled ahead of me on the way
up because I’m clicking slightly later than I should be. I’m marking his
position when he’s slightly in front of me instead of directly next to me. When
he walking on a loose leash, I will work to correct his position next to me. It
was great to be able to see this on video.
Another big part of service dog work is walking on different
surfaces, body handling, and maneuvering in tight spaces. One place to practice
is in a public restroom setting. Service dogs should enter the stall first,
turn around, and then back up next to the toilet. This is also a great place to
practice self-control so he doesn’t sneak a drink!
Lucky sits exactly where he's supposed to
What does Lucky need to continue to work on? Good loose
leash walking and proper positioning on the stairs, especially when going up.
He also had a hard time settling in a crate at the end of the session. While we
practice good crate behavior in different rooms at my house and at work, we
need to continue to practice in different locations. This is a little more
challenging to do since it requires me to have a crate with me, but I plan to
practice at other people’s houses where they have crates. I also have a travel
crate.
Jennifer Jones and SSD Cooper snowshoeing at Lyebrook Falls
The support of a service dog can make things that seem
impossible, possible. Jennifer Jones shared how her service dog, SSD Cooper,
has helped her reach goals she once thought were impossible:
“SSD Cooper and I snowshoed to the Sugar House from the base
lodge. I was FINALLY able to be in the middle of the mountain and watch people
ski! I’ve wanted to do this for years, but the only way to get there was to
ski. Cooper has helped me do things that I never thought possible. What a
blessing he is!”
Cooper hangs out with Jennifer at the Sugar House on Okemo Mountain after their snowshoe hike up the mountain
Cooper on the Lyebrook Trail
Cooper relaxing on Timber Ridge
Jennifer and Cooper cross country skiing
Cooper sitting in the gondola at Stowe when they rode to the top of the mountain
You can read more about Jennifer and Cooper in Vermont Sports, where they’re the second story.
You can help create partnerships like the one between
Jennifer and Cooper. Donate to build a new training center where dogs like
Cooper can learn specific tasks to assist their future partners!
My name is Kristin Livelsberger and my partner is SSD Gannett.
We just completed Team Training in October 2019. It was an intensive three-week
program where Gannett and I trained as a team along with 5 other teams. It was
a valuable, inspiring, and mind-blowing experience! It was amazing to
personally witness the positive impact each dog so quickly had on their
partners in those first three weeks. Susquehanna Service Dogs often says that
they change lives! It sounds dramatic and positive but yet doesn’t even scratch
the surface of what a positive impact a service dog can make in someone's life.
In truth, yes Susquehanna Service Dogs does change lives but in reality, as I
witnessed, they save them!
Here’s my story:
The day I first met Gannett, she literally gave me a hug and
stole my heart. I later found out we were matched. A month and a half later we
were reunited at Team Training. Gannett saw me and got so happy that she gave
me a hug. She remembered me! Gannett and I bonded quickly. We learned how to
work together. I saw huge changes in the other teams during Team Training.
However, it didn’t totally hit me how much the experience changed me until it
was over. I think part of that was because, during Team Training, I was dealing
with some health issues and I worried about whether or not I would get through
and complete the training. The fact that I made it through without having a
major health crisis or hospitalization is truly a testimony to the change that
was starting to happen in my life. It is all because of SSD Gannett!
SSD
Gannett is 100% pure love, joy, positive energy, and motivation! She motivated
me every day! She gave me hope and peace. She distracted me from my pain and
with all the tasks she had learned to do, she made the impossible possible for
me to do! As a result, my confidence grew! My limitations are no longer a
barrier to being more independent. This is huge! To go from being told what is
and isn’t possible for a tetraplegic to do, to being able to do things I was
told I would never be able to do. During Team Training, Gannett and I were
proving them wrong! It was hard to really process all of this at the time.
Since Team Training ended, SSD Gannett has accompanied me to
multiple medical appointments.Having
Gannett with me kept my stress level down, which helped me stay focused and
allowed me to communicate better. SSD Gannett also made it possible to go into
the appointment by myself.Being able to
do things by myself is a huge step forward for me. The other major difference
in having Gannett with me when I am out in public is that, for the first time
in a decade since my spinal cord injury, I feel like I am no longer invisible.
I feel like I’m a part of life again. This sounds strange but for a decade I
have had doors literally slammed on me by people who swore they didn’t see me.
I have had people talk to others around me and never acknowledge that I was
there. This happened so often. This was a very harsh consequence for me, a
super outgoing, fun-loving disabled person, to endure. This left me feeling very
lonely and disconnected from the world. The only exception was the senior
population and children. Now, when I go out, everyone sees me! People smile at
me and make eye contact. Because of SSD Gannett, I exist again. People treat me
like a valued member of the human race!
SSD Gannett has given me the gift of getting my life back and
allowing me to be more independent with my care. As a result, this has given my
family permission to live their lives as well. My daughters whom are both in
college; have both said that they feel relief knowing that Gannett is with me
and they feel less guilty about being away from home. My parents are going out
more and not having to constantly be around to help me. This is very huge! My
family has piece of mind with Gannett near me! She’s able to get help when
necessary and fulfill many tasks that I no longer have to depend on others to
do. SSD Gannett does so much for me and she loves helping and learning new
things. She keeps adding tasks to her list of things she can do. There is so
much possibility now that I have Gannett. She has learned to open doors for me
but in so doing she’s opened the door to reclaiming my life and allowing my
family to do the same.
SSD Gannett is an amazing dog and
there was a lot of time and hours spent training Gannett and cultivating the
motivation and talents that she possesses, making her the awesome incredibly
helpful dog she is today. All the Susquehanna Service Dogs staff, trainers,
puppy raisers, volunteers, and generous donors make all things possible for me
and many others to live full, meaningful, and the most independent lives
possible! Susquehanna Service Dogs is an incredible organization. They have
been wonderful to work with, and all the care and dedication and commitment to
change lives is proved by these remarkable dogs. Thank you for not only
changing lives but saving mine!
Susquehanna Service Dogs raises, trains, and places service dogs to assist individuals with disabilities. We train service, hearing, balance and companion dogs to support men, women, and children to be more independent.
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