It was all paws on deck last week at White Rock’s Kent Street Activity Centre, as a quartet of assistance dogs – the youngest a trainee just 13 weeks old – paid a visit to attendees of the centre’s Fresh & Lively lunch program.
Puma, Tartan, Cannoli and Pond, all part of the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society, attended the centre Nov. 16 with their handlers and PADS communications manager Tara Doherty, to spread the word about the organization and the work the dogs are trained to do.
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PADS breeds, raises, trains and supports certified assistance dogs – service, post-traumatic stress, hearing and facility dogs – partnering them with people living with disabilities, and with community care professionals.
About eight years ago, a year or so after officials were approached with the idea of training a trauma dog, an accredited-facility-dog program was added to the organization’s resumé.
“They’re very clever dogs,” Doherty told the attendees, whose questions included asking about the application process for obtaining a service dog, and what to do if the building they live in does not allow dogs.
To the latter, Doherty explained that pet restrictions do not apply to service dogs.
“They’re allowed to go anywhere that you could go without them,” she said.
Doherty said PADS currently has 165 dogs in training and 135 active working teams across Canada.
In addition, PADS has welcomed 62 puppies – all under eight weeks old – into its fold within the past two months, she said.
By all appearances, the dogs were a hit amongst luncheon attendees, who also had an opportunity to interact with the dogs.
“We’ve had other programs, but this is truly, highly memorable,” Renie McRae told Peace Arch News.
For more information on the Fresh & Lively luncheon, call 604-541-2231.
For more about PADS,
