Dog Honored With Statue

Sully the service dog received a special honor on Veterans Day.

The 4-year-old lab became known for his loyalty to former president George H. W. Bush. Now, Sully is being recognized for his service in a monumental way.

A bronze statue was unveiled Tuesday on Long Island, where Sully was born and raised before the cherished service dog became the constant companion of President George H. W. Bush. Then, the nation watched as Sully stood by the former president at his wake and funeral two years ago.

The sculptor, Susan Bahary, said she was so taken with the dog’s loyalty and devotion, she dedicated her art to America’s VetDogs.

“I had the joy of meeting Sully and spending three hours measuring, admiring, getting to know him,” Bahary said.

“Our service is available to all veterans, not just presidents,” said John Miller, president and CEO of America’s VetDogs. “And Sully did a great job, along with the Bush family who is just tremendous to work with, in helping shine a light on our services.”

It costs more than $50,000 to breed, raise, train and place one assistance dog. America’s VetDogs provides its services free of charge.

Sully’s trainer, Valerie Cramer, says the dog’s special bond with disabled veterans won’t be roken.

“The beauty of Sully is that he crosses all barriers,” Cramer told CBS2’s Jennifer McLogan. “Maybe he misses the job that he did before, but he is very happy to do what he’s doing now because he touches so many lives.”

Sully now comforts servicemen and women at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where a line of vets awaits Sully each day.

Police Takes Over As Canine Handler

Lator, the canine officer for Cambridge Springs Police Department’s K-9 Unit, has a new handler.

Lator’s former handler, Sgt. Lee Woodworth, recently left the department, so Chief Tad Acker has taken over.

“Lee took a full-time job with the City of Corry Police Department,” Acker said.

But Lator stayed because he is owned by the borough. He came with a price tag of about $14,500 and was purchased with donations from community individuals and businesses.

Lator, 2, a purebred German shepherd, will turn 3 in December.

He was shipped to the United States from Hungary, and the police department got him from Shallow Creek Kennels, a police service dog training academy in Sharpsville.

With Woodworth leaving, Acker contacted the kennels to find out if a police service dog could be trained to work with a new handler. The answer was yes.

“The reason I agreed to assume the handler position is because the police department did not have any other officers who have enough time in or experience,” Acker said.

Acker is no rookie when it comes to police canines. Although he’s never been a handler, he previously worked for the Vernon Township Police Department, which had two dogs.

“I know the dedication and commitment it takes working with canines,” he said.

Acker, 51, is a seven-year member of the Cambridge Springs police force.

But he’s been a police officer since 2001, when he graduated from the North East Mercyhurst Municipal Police Academy. He worked part time for the Cochranton Police Department and the West Mead Police Department. He then worked part time for the Vernon Township Police Department from 2005 to 2008 and went full time there in 2008. He stayed with Vernon Township until joining the Cambridge Springs Police Department in 2013. He is also president of the Frank L. Baranyai Memorial Lodge 108 in Cambridge Springs.

Lator is a dual-purpose dog: he’s trained in narcotics searches, apprehension of suspects, building searches and article searches, and he’s also trained in tracking.

His veterinary care is sponsored by Greener Pastures Veterinary Services in Saegertown.

In between handlers, Lator stayed at Knick’s Bed and Biscuit LLC in Meadville, a canine kennel that helped with the transition.

“When the borough decided we would keep the dog, we took Lator to Knick’s and housed him there until Lee’s last day,” Acker said.

Lator goes home with Acker every day. Acker, who is married and has a stepson, said Lator is adjusting to his new family.

“We already have three dogs, so incorporating Lator in to the family so far has been positive – but it takes time,” he said.

The police department has a K-9 transport sport utility vehicle, which is a 2018 Ford Interceptor package. In the back, a transport cage for Lator takes up half the space, and the other half is for prisoner transport.

In addition to working in Cambridge Springs, the K-9 Unit also helps other police departments.

“The whole thing I’ve learned is that it is a different job,” Acker said. “Lee did a phenomenal job with Lator. I’m hoping to maintain that.”

And he’s working on that now, with a little help from some friends. Acker and Lator have been training with Mike Amann and Tony Dibacco from Lake Erie K9 in Lawrence Park; Sgt. Landon Silva and his canine, Kenzo, of the Borough of Edinboro Police Department; and retired K-9 handler John T. Labow.

“The dog is trained; I need to learn how to read him,” Acker said. “We’ve bonded really well.”

Although Lator is playful and friendly, he’s also a working dog, and when he works, he means business.

Acker believes Lator is an asset to the police department and Cambridge Springs as a whole, saying he fits into the community well and does his work when required.

“He’s social, but when he goes to work, he’s a different dog,” the chief said.

K9s For Warriors

When veterans come home from battle, transitioning back into civilian life can be a daunting task.

On average, 20 veterans die from suicide each day, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. But groups like K9s for Warriors are working to bring that number down by training service dogs to help veterans cope with the physical and mental scars from service.

“I’m a graduate of the program in 2015 and I came back and I started working here and I can see how this program affects the warrior and their family,” said Greg Wells, Manager of Programs with K9s for Warriors.

The program has been able to continue its work through the pandemic, training 90 dogs and pairing them with veterans.

“We were in a state where we could keep going. The doors were still open. And you can’t Zoom train a dog. You can’t Zoom train a warrior,” said K9s for Warriors CEO Rory Diamond.

Working at a limited capacity has come at a cost.

The program’s wait time has doubled from two to four years, with 391 veterans on the waitlist.

“Our biggest fear is to lose a warrior on our waitlist. Our warriors, 82% of them have attempted suicide before they come here and we have an almost perfect record in stopping it after a warrior comes here, but we’ve got to get them through our doors first,” said Diamond.

But the program has plans to expand to meet the growing need.

“We’re going to break ground next year on what we call a ‘Mega Kennel’. The world’s largest rescue dog training center. So we’ll get much more dogs like Angel here through our system,” said Diamond.

K9s for Warriors is 100 percent free to veterans and while the Florida Legislature approved $600,000 for the program this year, private donations provide most of the funding.

K9s for Warriors has a 10-year history of helping veterans and currently operates in 47 states.

In that time it has trained and paired 641 service dogs with veterans.

Police K-9 Program

Thursday the Rotary Club of Mason announced a fundraiser to assist the City of Mason with launching a new K-9 program within the police department.

In September, Ingham County Animal Control transferred eight German Shepard dogs from St. Clair County Animal Control. The dogs had been rescued from a neglect/hording situation. Of those eight, one dog had the potential to be a working K-9, which the Mason Police Department had been considering for a number of years.

The female German Shepherd is mostly black and weighs about 55 pounds. Her exact date of birth is unknown, but it is estimated that she is a little older than when most young Shepherd start police K-9 training. She was evaluated by Mike Morgan, owner of Mid-Michigan Police K-9, LLC at his facility.

“He told me that he had absolutely no reservations about her potential as a dual purpose K-9 for the Mason Police Department,” said Chief Don Hanson. “In fact, if she had been evaluated in Poland, where he normally buys his dogs, she would have been selected.”

While her name at the time of rescue is unknown, the name “Tamarak” has been used at Ingham County Animal Control and while in foster care.

Hanson hopes that she and a current officer will be enrolled in Police K-9 School in the spring and will be trained in tracking and explosives detection.

“When this many experts all draw the same conclusion about a dog’s potential as a working K-9, I had to listen,” said Hanson. “But ultimately she will be a service dog to help our community.”

Every year in Mason, there are about 30-40 calls in which a dog could assist on the investigations including bomb threats, missing children or seniors, and tracking.

The program will provide an opportunity for professional growth for the handler, who will be selected after a comprehensive process.

In order for the program to be a success, no additional staff will be added to the police department, but a police SUV will be fitted as a dual-purpose K-9 and general patrol vehicle. The upgraded SUV would still be capable of transporting a person in police custody.

Due to uncertainty of finances available, Mason City Council will only authorize the adoption if funds are raised to cover the startup of the program, estimated to be $20,000, for minimal burden to tax payers. Local veterinarian, Dr. Main, agreed to provide routine care at no cost to the city.

Dog Helps Veteran Overcome PTSD

Service dogs are one way to help veterans cope with traumatic experiences from military service. One non-profit provides them free of charge to veterans.

Arbor is a playful, loving dog according to the owner, Amber. Another special thing about Arbor is that he is a service dog trained for veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), among other things. Amber joined the U.S. Army in the mid 80’s and knew from the start, it was going to be a long journey.

“Right from the get-go, in basic training, I learned very quickly that I was a female,” says Amber Skylar, a veteran. “I went through hell being a female.”

Amber says she dealt with sexual harassment and assaults throughout her military career. She suffers from PTSD after her sexual trauma. For about 30 years, the invisible wound kept Amber depressed, away from living a social life. Then, Arbor came around to help her overcome that.

“I never saw myself as my wound being worthy,” says Amber. “Having Arbor was like a badge of honor for me. It was like coming home, that I could just embrace that I had served too.”

Arbor comes from the Canine Companions for Independence, a non-profit that provides service dogs for those in need like veterans with PTSD. December 2020 will mark one year that Amber and Arbor have been together. Within the one year, Amber says she’s gained more independence, freedom, and a social life. “I find myself out for an hour, maybe two hours exploring things, looking around. It is incredibly healthy for me because I could stay in this house for three, five days and never leave and never have a problem with it. I can’t do that with Arbor, it’s medicine, he has to get out and I love him,” says Amber.

There are currently 16 Montanans with service dogs from this organization; Amber is the only one that is a military veteran.

Amber hopes her story encourages veterans to take action and seek the necessary help.

Veterans Find Guardian Angels

A relatively simple question crossed Stacy Juchno’s mind shortly after she became executive sponsor of PNC’s Military employee business resource group: what type of activity might better engage the group?

Around the same time, Juchno, the leader of PNC’s internal audit department, heard about Guardian Angels, a non-profit organization that pairs service dogs with veterans who have disabilities.

“What if I could get the group to sponsor one service dog, and we could follow the journey of the veteran and the dog?” Juchno recalled wondering at the time.

Out of the idea, a much larger initiative to support veterans sprouted. In 2016, Guardian Angels established and PNC sponsored the Mutt Strut, a fundraiser that started as a charity walk for people and pets in Pittsburgh’s Frick Park. Two other markets — Erie, Pa., and Dayton, Ohio — later added events, and in 2020, the Mutt Strut went virtual amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the evolution, the commitment to honoring veterans’ service and helping those in need held firm.

In five years, PNC raised and donated enough money to fund 57 service dogs from Guardian Angels — the cost for each dog ranges from $20,000 to $25,000. Guardian Angels does not pass any part of those costs on to the dogs’ recipients.

“Our employees found a better way to not only engage our Military EBRG with Guardian Angels and the amazing service dogs, but they helped us engage so many veterans and veteran advocates in the community,” Juchno said. “Before the Mutt Strut started, I thought if we create awareness about veteran suicide, we will have been successful. I dreamed of one dog for one veteran. My expectations continue to be exceeded.”

A Solution that Saves Veterans’ Lives

Carol Borden, founder and CEO of Guardian Angels, still remembers the weather forecast for the inaugural Mutt Strut. Clouds hovered overhead at dawn. Rain appeared likely.

“All of a sudden, when the sun came out, it was the most beautiful day, and it stayed that way through the entire event, so that was sort of a sign of things to come,” said Borden, whose organization operates out of Williston, Fla. “If I had to dream of an ideal sponsor, it would be PNC.”

The first Mutt Strut raised almost $200,000. In 2017, the total grew to about $300,000. In 2019, the events in Pittsburgh, Erie and Dayton combined to raise $511,000. Relying solely on a virtual format during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mutt Strut brought in more than $250,000.

Expansion of the events to new areas attracted more PNC employees to the cause, and the idea of veteran advocacy spread among even those who never served and lacked family ties to the military.

“It all came together for me after I heard some of the veterans’ stories and saw the dogs in action,” said Jeff Szumigale, a PNC Wealth Management market director in Erie. “That’s when the proverbial light bulb went off, and I thought, ‘My goodness, I think I’ve got a good friend who could use this.’

“You don’t have to be a veteran to help or to care. Almost everybody knows somebody who was in the military, and chances are one of those folks is experiencing challenges.”

Guardian Angels named PNC its Sponsor of the Year for 2020. PNC remains proud to work with Guardian Angels, which maintains a remarkable track record with veterans. Tragically, during the past decade-plus, an average of 17 veterans died by suicide each day, according to a 2019 report from the Department of Veteran Affairs. Yet none of the more than 350 veterans paired with Guardian Angels service dogs since the organization’s founding in 2010 are among those statistics.

“This is a solution that works, and not enough people know about it,” said Chris Phillips, a Marine veteran who works for PNC as a military affairs liaison and leads efforts to support Guardian Angels’ execution of the Mutt Strut events. “You never realize whose lives you’re changing until somebody reaches out.”

Leading by Example

Phillips hopes success of the virtual version of the Mutt Strut means PNC and Guardian Angels’ message will begin to reach veterans online rather than relying solely on attendance at in-person events.

“Veterans don’t serve by ZIP code,” she said. “I think this year, we really tried to show that we’re serving all of our veterans from every community out there.”

While fundraising is critical to its mission, initiating conversations about disabilities with veterans is just as high a priority for Guardian Angels and its sponsors.

“When I have an opportunity to talk to veterans directly,” Borden said, “I encourage them to not only understand what these dogs can do for them — some things that not even a caregiver is able to do — I also make them realize they’re leaders, and they’re role models to other veterans. It’s not just for those with PTSD, either. Whether their disability is related to mental health or mobility, veterans need to experience the impact a service dog can have on their own lives and then share that, and they do.”

Army veteran John Kelly received his Guardian Angels service dog, Ranger, in 2016 and soon became a passionate proponent for the cause.

“For a long time, I was without what I would consider, in like a Samurai sense, my honor,” Kelly said. “I was walking around as empty as a shell. And you guys helped bring me back from that.

“With the strategic vision of the Mutt Strut and Guardian Angels supported by PNC, you’re saving lives every day.”

Hannah Changes Lives

Although Hannah is only five months old, she’s already preparing for a job that will change someone’s life.

On a recent outing, the black Lab puppy sniffed the grass before snapping to attention when her trainer, resident Kara Hubbard, said her name.

Hubbard is temporarily raising the 40-pound canine that is part of the NEADS World Class Service Dogs, a nonprofit organization in Princeton. Since she is working from home due to the COVID pandemic, Hubbard felt she could devote the time and energy to raising and training a dog that could help someone in need. “This is a great way for us to be able to give back,” she said. Hubbard applied to be a full-time puppy trainer in June and went through a rigorous screening process before being accepted. Staff at NEADS, “really cared about where their puppies were going,” she said.

For 12-26 months, volunteers take on the responsibility of training a puppy “for a career of helping others with disabilities, including those who are deaf or physically disabled, children who have autism, or veterans who have PTSD; or providing therapeutic assistance in a variety of professional settings,” said NEADS CEO Gerry DeRoche in a press release. Hubbard said she is laying the foundation of obedience training. For example, when she asks Hannah to take a ball and bring it back to her, that skill will later be used if the dog’s future owner drops something.

Hubbard recently demonstrated other important skills Hannah must master, including walking next to Hubbard’s knee; sitting when Hubbard stops; and going to the bathroom on command.

“She actually does it pretty well,” she said. When Hannah is outside of the home, she is a working dog, so she has to learn not to be distracted and run after other dogs or squirrels, for example.

NEADS teams evaluate the dogs throughout the entire training process and decide if they’ll “graduate.” After she leaves Hubbard’s home, Hannah will receive advanced training before placement, if she’s accepted as a service dog.

When asked how they’ll feel when they have to give Hannah back to NEADS, Hubbard said she and her family always knew there would be an endpoint to the arrangement.

“We do love her very, very much … it will be hard, for sure,” she said. “But it will be such a celebration for us … [for Hannah] to move on to be a service dog.”

Hubbard said she and her family are even thinking of training another NEADS puppy after Hannah leaves.

“It’s really a blessing to us … to be able to do this for someone else who really needs this,” she said.

Southeastern Guide Dogs

What are Southeastern Guide Dogs most popular dog names?

Most guide dog organizations allow the honor of naming privileges to be bestowed upon the puppies going through training by people who donated a lot of money, so it isn’t exactly like there’s a set of rules to follow like with hurricanes, as it’s more up to the donor. So a lot of the time, names can overlap, or come from goodness knows where. The impawtant thing is that that’s the dog’s name, and so it isn’t really like a normal adoption where the new owner could change it if they wanted.

The Southeastern Guide Dogs blog recently recapped the top 10 most requested puppy names, while also noting that every letter of the alphabet has been used at some point (X has the least, with 14 dogs beginning with that letter).

The first Southeastern Guide Dogs canine was a black Labrador Retriever named Freedom, and the longest name that has been given was the regal-sounding Sir Maverick of Monaco.Southeastern Guide Dogs is located in in Palmetto, Florida, about 45 minutes south of the Tampa Bay area, and the school was founded in 1982. Their first graduation was held in February 1984, and since that time they’ve graduated more than 3,200 teams.

Relaxing after a day of working

Getting love from human after working. I like my times with my human after working it’s my down time. I work hard for my human so on times I don’t work I can relax a lot.

The good good Dog Baron Boy

Baron outside in backyard walking and playing as i teach him tricks he already 70lb at 4 months youngs very smart. Full of life and full of energy

Ruby Jane sitting pretty at home

Ruby Jane

1 year old

Sweet girl

Loving, compassionate and emotion responsive

Never barks

Always caring for others and super loving

Charlie Lochridge

Charlie working while his family was eating out at dinner. He is working hard to stay and await his next orders. He enjoys going into the bookstore with his family after dinner

Identification picture

This picture is for identification purposes.

Pandora after her grooming appointment

She loves going to the groomers and loves her snuggle time afterwards.🙂🙂beautiful 😍 sweet girl. I love my sweet fur baby

TAL Service dog

Tal, English Black Pointer, born on February 2019.

Intelligent, engaged, affectionate, full of life and tall with very long legs.

protective instincts

Pandora has great protective instincts. she waits by the window right at the time I am do home from work. Ready to meet me at the door as soon as I am home

me and pandora cuddling

me and pandora cuddling after a long day. She is always there to comfort and melt away the stress from my busy day. puppy love

Rocky doing her job

Rocky is an amazing help. She has learned patience, she comes to me & offers her collar to help pull myself up,

She enjoys meeting everyone, she thinks everyone is in love with a puppy

She knows how to sit, come, go fetch, go to bed, I have been enjoying my new freedom and independence with her. Rocky does her job well..

I’m blessed to have her in my world.

Shopping trip to GS

Following my brother through the gaming store trying to help him pick out a game. Honestly I don’t think he needs my help but me and Mom are his escort.