Barb Verhage began volunteering for Can Do Canines in 2012 after entering retirement. Her first volunteer role was as a Puppy Socializer. She was tasked with engaging and socializing the puppies in the kennel. Quick to take on more responsibility, Barb then became an outing volunteer, a role she continues to do every Wednesday alongside Joanne Nichols and Lisa Hathy. This trio brings dogs in training into the community for extra socialization and to work on obedience skills in new environments. “It’s fun to go out with three dogs because people notice you more. You get a little more attention …
Feature Stories
A Hero for a Hero
A Hero It’s 2005 and Sgt. Corey Briest is riding in a humvee as a member of the Army National Guard drive through Iraq. He’s in the third vehicle of the convoy. The first humvee passes through a checkpoint. As the second moves forward, a roadside bomb explodes. Corey’s humvee stops to assess the situation. Serving as their squad’s medic, Corey knows they have to assist the injured—but when they move on, their humvee is hit as well. “I trust Corey with my life,” says 1st Sgt. George Arends, a friend, and a fellow soldier. “Sgt. Briest displays all the …
A More Independent Life
Life Before Rex Vicki has adapted to life with Parkinson’s over the past 18 years. It makes basic tasks challenging and at times unsafe, such as getting in and out of the car, using her right hand, leaning over, or walking. She reached out to Can Do Canines in the hopes of finding a dog who could provide the mobility assistance she needed. A Good Match Can Do Canines paired Vicki with Rex, a two-and-a-half-year-old Black Labrador Retriever with the skills of an assistance dog champ. Rex performs such duties as picking up dropped items, alerting a family member if …
A Sense of Stability
The assistance dogs provided by Can Do Canines help with a number of disabling conditions, including diabetes, autism, seizure response, hearing loss and assisting those with mobility issues. One of the intangible things that the dogs add is a tendency to open the world for those who’ve just received a new dog. Such is the case of Stephanie. Even though Stephanie is by no means a shut-in, two-year-old black Labrador Retriever Sheldon has helped her get out into the world even more – something that she really wasn’t able to do before. Stephanie was born without a left hip socket …
A Calming Presence
Stress is hard on everyone. It can cause such problems as headaches, sleep problems, or even chest pains, but for some people like Jacie, stress can be even more debilitating, leading to more severe health issues. A full plate Jacie is a junior in college, majoring in biology and premed. Such ambitious goals are certainly tough for anyone, but they’re especially difficult for Jacie, who has POTS syndrome—postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. “My heart beats too fast,” she explains. “My specific kind [of POTS] is hypoadrenic, so any stress, or any kind of anxiety, or any change in my mood or …
Volunteer Spotlight: Michelle Magdsick
Michelle Magdsick knows firsthand the positive impact dogs can make on people’s lives. As a former nurse anesthetist, Michelle witnessed the special kind of joy that comes over nursing home patients when a dog comes to visit and has seen the calming effect they bring to stressed-out staff. After hearing about Can Do Canines from two of her neighbors, she decided to apply to volunteer. “I was introduced to Can Do Canines by two of my neighbors, each at different times. One neighbor discovered my love of dogs while he was walking his dog and told me about the volunteer …
A Custom Approach
Can Do Canines knows that each person with a disability has unique needs. Our philosophy is that their assistance dogs should be trained to meet their needs, and the client’s training process should be tailored to their abilities. This is why Can Do Canines custom trains each dog for a particular client and offers individual training for every team. Custom Training Many organizations train each dog the same way. For example, a future Mobility Assist Dog will learn countless tasks, but he will not end up needing all those tasks for his partner. This method is inefficient, as it trains …
Love Is in the Air
After an injury, Michael developed severe back pain and neuropathy, putting him at risk of falling. He was matched with Mobility Assist Dog Zelda in 2017. At the time, Michael was dating Doreen. A year-and-a-half later, the two tied the knot. Zelda played the vital role of ring bearer at their ceremony. “It was important for us to include Zelda in our marriage as we were making a commitment to her as well as each other,” explains Michael. “You might just say that we all got married,” he laughs. Zelda has been a positive influence on both Michael and Doreen. …
A Lot of Personality
Ridge and Peggy Those who come to Can Do Canines for an assistance dog have varied levels of experience with dogs. Some have never owned one. Others have owned many. But no one has trained four of their own assistance dogs—until Ridge. Since 1998, he’s trained four of his own assistance dogs. Ridge didn’t develop his disabilities until his late twenties when he contracted meningitis and encephalitis. “They gave me a 5 percent chance of living,” Ridge says. “I spent three months in the hospital where I was locked in and I couldn’t move, eat, or talk. All I could …
Truly Amazing
In 2016 when he was 10 years old, Nicholas was matched with Autism Assist Dog Truly. His family wanted a dog that would help Nicholas from wandering, ease his anxiety, and comfort him at night. Truly has been … truly amazing. Recently, Nicholas asked his mom, Paula, “When can I go to Can Do Canines and tell them how much I love Truly and how much she helps me?” “Being a mom of a child with autism and a pediatrician, this is huge,” explains Paula. “People with autism have a hard time expressing feelings, verbalizing feelings, and a tremendously hard …
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