June Volunteer of the Month

Congratulations to Maria and Rob Hersey on being our June Volunteers of the Month! Read their story below about how they became puppy sitters. Thank you, Rob and Maria, for helping dogs change lives! 

Guest post by Maria Hersey, volunteer with Susquehanna Service Dogs

Rob and I began volunteering as puppy sitters in May 2016. Fortunately, I keep notes on all the dogs we sit for and realized that within that time, we have had the honor and pleasure of sitting for forty-three dogs. Ten of those dogs have stayed with us multiple times: Andie Joy, Wes, Dustin, Chickadee, Jackie, Cassiopeia, Prague, Cha Cha , Nellie, and Sergeant. 

Initially, we began sitting on weekends for dogs in Advanced Training. As the years progressed, we began to care for dogs requiring a longer sitting period due to unique situations or breeding schedules. When you spend many weeks caring for a dog, you have the satisfaction of developing a relationship with them and that arrangement is beneficial, not only for the dog but also for both us. Some of the circumstances which resulted in long-term sitting involved discharged dogs awaiting a final disposition, dogs with upcoming adoptions, a dog needing to lose weight, and breeding dogs who need a home situation prior to mating.

Time and again, we are asked “How can you give up these dogs?” Our answer: “There is always another wonderful dog needing us to sit so we rarely feel sad.” There is such variety to our assignments. We have sat for one or two days or up to six weeks. It just depends on SSD’s needs and what is going on with our schedule.

Admittedly, we hold a special place in our hearts for dogs who spend an extended period of time with us:  Bailey (a sweetheart), Andie Joy (happy girl), Jackie (what a scamp), Cha Cha (full of energy), Mikey (a teddy bear), and Sergeant (incredible athlete). We were sad when they left but as we said, there is always another special puppy ready to join us for a new adventure.

Five years ago, we lost our beloved Annabelle, a rescued black lab/golden mix.  Since we are retired and in our 70s, we did not want to take on the responsibility of rescuing another dog. Nor did we want to burden our children should we not be able to care for a dog. However, throughout 51 years of marriage we have always had a rescue and now we felt lost without a canine companion. We also enjoy an active lifestyle of walking and hiking and both activities are so much more much fun when we can share them with a dog.

Sitting for SSD was the perfect situation for our current lifestyle. We have our freedom but also have ample opportunities to get our “doggie fix.” Also what is not to like about SSD dogs! They are well-bred, beautifully behaved, and can accompany us to all the places we like to visit. Our dogs join us in daily exercise classes, join us while we volunteer at the public library and go on daily visits to the Mohler Senior Center. It is such a pleasure to walk into these places, especially with a SSD dog, because we are greeted with such delight and joy by all.  At the senior center, Rob and I discovered that our “supposed” popularity is in direction proportion to the dogs we share with the members.

We have truly enjoyed working with the staff and other volunteers at SSD. This is a community of devoted dog lovers who are so dedicated to the mission of sharing these beautiful animals with those in need. No matter what your age or who you are, if you are involved with caring for SSD dogs you are completely accepted as part of this greater service dog family. 

May Volunteer of the Month

Congratulations to Susan Wesner, the May Volunteer of the Month!

Susan has been volunteering with Susquehanna Service Dogs since May 2014 as a puppy hugger helping to socialize our youngest service dogs in training. She first heard about SSD when she attended PawsAbilities, our canine festival. By 2015, she took our classes to become a puppy sitter.

After sitting new puppies SSD Geronimo, SSD Godiva, and SSD Guava as part of our 2x2 puppy sitting program, she was hooked.

Since then, she has supervised puppy socialization at our center in Grantville, PA and has helped canine eye clinics and other activities. She has also helped with litters in some of our whelping homes—clipping nails, cleaning up after the puppies, and more.

“Best of all is getting to work with the puppies on their early socialization and learning,” says Susan.

“As a sitter, I enjoy working with the dogs in public, and when I get the opportunity to sit a dog more than once, it’s fun to see how they have progressed. Knowing these puppies and dogs will someday help someone with things that I take for granted is why I continue volunteering.”

Thank you, Susan, for 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.

Want to join this group of amazing volunteers? Sign up today: https://www.keystonehumanservices.org/susquehanna-service-dogs/responsibilities-of-a-puppy-raiser.php

April Volunteers of the Month

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.

February Volunteer of the Month

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!

January Volunteer of the Month

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!

It Started with One Puppy

Sharon Stalker and SSD Hamilton at ZooAmerica

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!”

They’ve been raising puppies ever since. Currently, they’re raising SSD Hamilton.

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

Service Dog Training: The Walk and Talk

SSD Lucky explores a new object

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.

Want to help Lucky with his training? Donate to build a new training center for Susquehanna Service Dogs! Give here: https://crowdrise.com/susquehanna-capital-campaign