News
Seasons Greetings and Happy Holidays
December 13, 2007
Seasons Greetings and Happy Holidays to all. This year has been very eventful for Shadows for Life, and we are very thankful at this special time of year for all that we have been blessed with throughout the year. Please take a few minutes and visit the gallery for the newest photos of new and existing clients, and check back in the future for regular updates.
We now have (15) Special Needs Teams at various stages of training, with (4) of these being certified. Our dog rescue activity has remained consistent at about two - three dogs adopted out every week or so. Many of these rescues have been accomplished with a very quick turnaround, and in conjunction with local veterinarians. Please check http://www.petfinder.com for a listing of our current dogs for adoption. All revenue received from adoption activity is directly used in support of the Special Needs effort.
The agency continues to supply services to all Special Need Teams at no charge, and any donations would be greatly appreciated. The primary goal for 2008 remains acquiring a facility for the agency to house dogs in training and that have been rescued. Please contact the agency to find out how you can help.
Please have a safe Holiday Season, and God Bless!
Fund-raising update
October 04, 2007
The recent fund-raising initiative is off to a fantastic start, primarily thanks to the efforts of David Spainhour. Mr Spainhour and his wife Diana have been integral in the agency raising over $13,000 in the past month alone. We have opened a sixth month CD to be utilized toward a facility which will hopefully be ready by the Spring of ‘08. The agency is currently seeking land to build a kennel and living quarters on. This facility will greatly enhance our ability to rescue and train up to (25) dogs at any given time, and many of these rescue dogs will subsequently be utilized as Assistance Dogs. We will also have another (25) units to house our Assistance Dogs in training. from puppies to young adults.
Summer Events
August 23, 2007
The Summer has been very eventful for Shadows for Life. We now have three Special Needs Teams which have been certified for public access, as per the testing format suggested by Assistance Dogs International (ADI). Brenda Wyss/Amber, Fran Zucker/Catherine and Cyndee & Emma Hopkins/Jake have all worked diligently to satisfy the requirements of the testing, and they all passed with flying colors!
Group classes have continued through the Summer on Saturday mornings at Rose Park here in Mansfield, and have been a lot of fun! The focus of the agency has somewhat shifted from family pet training to Special Needs training and rescue activities. In finally becoming a member of Petfinder, our traffic of inquiries for rescue dogs has increased ten-fold. With that in mind, we are currently actively pursuing opportunities for a facility in which we can house working dogs in training, as well as rescue dogs. The intent is for all rescue dogs to be tested as working dogs, and to place the dogs with the proper temperament into special needs training. All others will be trained as pets and placed with families respectfully. We optimistically hope to be in a facility of our own by the end of the year, and weekly meetings are currently being held along those lines.
One of our biggest stories of the year is in regard to Special Needs Team in training , Denise Lanier/Luke. Denise currently resides in Hollywood, Florida, and found Shadows for Life through our web-site. Our initial contact was in April of this year, and Denise obtained Luke (Golden) from a breeder in Indiana. Just this week, Denise and Luke came to Mansfield for a couple of days of hands-on training with us, and Luke is now here for a few weeks to sharpen his obedience and to introduce the retrieve. Denise is also an author and spokesperson for MS, and has been on the Oprah television show to heighten MS awareness. We will be flying back to Florida in a few weeks with Luke, and then pick up the training for a few days there. Denise has done an outstanding job with Luke to this point, and they are progressing right on schedule for Assistance Dog certification.
