News
Pups in training
July 17, 2010
We currently have six pups in training as assistance dogs at different stages. “Sasha” is our 5 month old AKC German Shepherd “blizzard baby” (born 12 Feb 2010), which was donated to the agency, and she is here with us going through her obedience and public access training. She has an absolutely wonderful temperament and will stay with the agency as a personal assistance dog, demonstration dog and possibly for breeding purposes. Now that we are on some land we can finally consider a breeding program to enhance the agencies ability to produce high quality pups.
“Trig” (Seguin, TX) and “Shelby” (Austin, TX) are both placed in the home and continuing with their training. They have both already completed their “jump-starts” here at Shadows for Life, and are doing very well in the homes of their team-mates! The biggest benefits from having these pups is that, although they are still very early in their training, the family unit (pack) is building a stronger bond and gaining invaluable experience from participating in the training. Not to mention the cost is significantly less and they didn’t have to wait years for a dog.
“Abby” (Belton, TX) has been here since late March for her obedience and public access. She is an extremely excitable lab who is going to have to mature more before she can be placed in the home for an extended period of time. We will continue to put the work in with her here at Shadows for Life, and realistically it is going to take a significant amount of time to ascertain if she has the right skill set for this challenging job. Although a wonderful pup, they don’t all have what it takes to be an assistance dog, and that’s the inherent risk in starting with a puppy.
“Bonnie” (Tyler, TX) was just picked out of the litter last week, and is currently with the family prior to coming to Shadows for Life in a few weeks to “jump-start” her obedience and public access training. “Brianna” (Dallas, TX) was just brought here straight from the litter in the past week. Her initial “jump-start” training is going to last four weeks, at which time she will be taken home to Kimberly to continue her training.
Our other “pup” in training at this time does not look like a pup at all, but he is still only a year old. Check out our gallery for “Sherlock” (Lafayette, Louisiana) and see what a beautiful well-behaved dog he was recently at Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio! He will be here at Shadows for Life soon to proceed with his retrieve and brace work for his team-mate, Terry.
New location and Morgan’s Wonderland
June 04, 2010
Shadows for Life has finally moved out to the country on some land, which will eventually have expanded capacity for housing rescue dogs and assistance dogs in training. The new location is in Alvarado, TX and the specific address can be found in the contact us section. This is a very exciting time for the agency, and estimates are already coming in for facility construction.
Local Doggie Day-care owners Brittany Williams (Cowtown Canines in Fort Worth) & Amanda Tachtaul-Petty (Paw Paws Dog House in Arlington) are co-sponsoring a major fund-raiser for the agency on July 10, 2010 at the Paw Paws Dog House location. There will be quite a few animal friendly vendors at the event, and we would love to see you out there. They have both worked very hard towards pulling this event together, and welcome any input that you may have. They may be contacted at 817-732-DOGS (Brittany) or 817-548-8485 (Amanda).
We also had the great pleasure of being invited to Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio recently as we delivered one of our pups in training (Trig Stahl) to his home in Seguin. Trig is in training to assist Cole Stahl in his day to day activities, as Cole has Spina Bifida. Although only 3 years old, this wonderful child is one of the most inspirational people that you will ever meet! He verbalizes way beyond his years, and is friends with everybody!
We went to Morgan’s with the Stahl family, and this is simply put an amazing facility. There is controlled attendance (reservations required), and the volunteers are the most pleasant people that you will encounter anywhere - very special individuals! Please check out the pictures in our gallery and the Morgan’s website at http://www.morganswonderland.com.
Expanded service area
March 29, 2010
Shadows for Life has expanded our service area to include new clients in San Antonio and Temple to name a few. Revised donation and fund-raising guidelines have enhanced our ability to support this type of activity. With the need for Assistance Dogs for minor children seemingly increasing daily, Shadows for Life remains one of the few agencies that will work with families with special needs minors. The benefits and results of having these specially trained dogs as members of the families are tremendous. Also, both programs that we have are intended for the families to reap the initial benefits almost immediately upon the placement of the dog’s into the home, even with puppies. The method of having Shadows for Life jump start the training routine has been consistently effective in establishing the structure and guidelines to be followed-up on in the home.
The agency is emphasizing to start with a puppy and to begin the training right away. Even young adult dogs may possibly have developed bad habits which may be difficult to break or modify. Although, we did successfully place a rescued lab with a special needs family during this past winter, so it can be done. Please note that there are no specific breeds for Assistance Dogs, although some instinctively perform specific tasks more reliably than others. The key is the true temperament of the puppy/dog, as this can not be taught. Shadows for Life has a temperament test that should be given to any dog being considered as an Assistance Dog.
