Paragon Press: August 2026 | |
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Happy August!
We’ve been enjoying the warm weather, but we’re also looking forward to the cooler weather ahead! This month, our pups have been working hard to master their skills and prepare for the next steps in their service dog journey.
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This month, we had a wonderful opportunity to host a lunch and learn with RSM, a Denver company that provides audit, tax, and consulting services focused on middle-market companies.
Paragon staff and Fortune, our service dog in training, were warmly welcomed by 40 staff members in person, along with 25 additional attendees joining virtually from the Denver Tech Center. Together, we shared not only our mission but also more information about service dogs in general.
Immediately, the audience fell in love with Fortune as he dozed off during the presentation. When it was time for Fortune’s sound-alert demonstration, he was fast asleep, but as soon as the timer went off, he immediately popped up and was ready to work, performing his sound alert accurately. The room echoed with a soft, collective “aww” as everyone watched Fortune perform his alert. It was a delightful group!
Presentations like this are a wonderful way to connect with our community while giving our dogs the opportunity to experience new environments and situations.
Thank you, RSM, for welcoming us, providing lunch, and helping us share our mission and the stories of these amazing dogs!
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Dog Diaries: Fortune
Hi!
Fortune here!
This month, I had the most exciting presentation all the way in downtown Denver! It was an incredibly busy area. There were giant cement buildings that only store cars! Then there were dozens of people and buildings taller than trees!
Despite all of the exciting sights and smells, I calmly walked into the high-end office building. There were so many floors!
My trainers said I did an excellent job and performed my tasks flawlessly.
Bye for now!
Fortune
| | | An Advanced Training Welcome! | | |
We’re pleased to welcome our Frenchie, Griswold, and our Lab/Golden, Frank, to advanced training!
For the past year, they have been trained by their amazing inmate handlers as part of our PAWS’abilities program. After learning all of their foundational cues, they took the long car ride to our Longmont location, where they were enthusiastically welcomed by staff.
The transition to advanced training is a big one, full of new sights, sounds, and plenty of new people to love on them. Upon arrival, they were welcomed by all of their old friends—Fiona, Flapjack, Forest, and Fortune—who were ready to welcome them to this next part of their training.
Going forward, they’ll spend their weekends with our amazing Weekend Companions, enjoying all the joys of being the perfect companion while taking trips to practice their training skills out and about. Monday through Thursday, they’ll join their dog friends on site for daily training.
We’re so excited to welcome these two! Welcome to advanced training, Frank and Griswold!
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Even the chemical smells alone make a doctor’s office a unique place to visit, making it a perfect experience for a young service dog in training.
This month, Hank joined his puppy socializer for a visit to explore all the peculiar experiences a doctor’s office has to offer.
When they arrived, the lobby was full of waiting patients and families of all ages. The diverse patient population exposed Hank to many different mobility aids.
Most notable was a walker with tennis balls on the bottom! Hank was very professional and resisted the temptation to give those tennis balls a chew. He and his puppy socializer waited patiently to be called back.
Once in the exam room, Hank waited patiently while his human handler was poked and prodded. For the first time, he heard the hiss of a blood pressure cuff and the beeping of a thermometer—and he stayed calm the entire time!
Overall, Hank was a star at the office, confidently navigating this new experience. Outings like this help prepare young pups to eventually accompany their future partners with routine appointments.
Hank remained calm and was a model example of a service dog in training, such a tall order for such a small trainee!
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| | Scheels: A Bear, A Ski Lift, and a Service Dog in Training | |
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This month’s puppy outing was to Scheels, a massive store equipped with an indoor Ferris wheel, bowling alley, and ginormous fish tank. For our three G-class community puppies, this was a big trip!
Upon entering the busy store, our puppies were greeted by a bustling crowd, strange dogs, and a huge moving Ferris wheel.
The first stop was the elevator to reach the second floor. But right by the elevator was the perfect photo spot: a pretend ski lift! Our puppy raiser, Lori, captured a picture-perfect photo of Granby on the lift, commemorating what a wonderful job she has been doing and how far they have come!
Upstairs, the two dogs and their volunteers were able to set off on their own to explore the store. From a mountain display full of taxidermy animals to a one-lane bowling alley, they navigated the crashing noises bravely.
Finally, everyone gathered to take a photo in front of a large taxidermy bear. Our brave puppies didn’t even blink at the huge bear!
Thank you so much to Barb K., Denine M., Lori P., Amber W., and Lisa W. for coming on this outing. These experiences truly allow our dogs to explore a variety of environments, preparing them for wherever their future handler needs them to go.
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Paragon Service Dogs and the PAWS'Abilities Handlers present...
Puppy Chronicles
King Henry
Hey everyone it's me again, Henry. It has been a while since I last wrote so I figured I better make an appearance.
I am now 21 weeks old and growing bigger every day. School has been going great, I love learning new things and showing off my skills for everyone. If I had to say what my favorite thing about it so far is I’d say it's all the snacks! Sometimes they're hard to eat right now because I’m losing a lot of my baby teeth all at once and I hear people calling me Toothless 🫤 I wonder if the puppy tooth fairy will give me some yummy treats? I sure hope so! And hey, I may be short on teeth at present but I have brains and character in spades. There's a lot riding on my success and I'm going to do my best to rise to the occasion. My handler always says how proud of me he is and that's all I want to do, make everyone proud!
Thanks again and I'll talk to you soon everybody.
Henry (and PAWS'Abilities Master handler Steven Hammer)
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Hickory
Hey, remember me? Yeah that’s right, Hickory.
Well it has been two months since we met so I thought I would check in with everyone. The last time we spoke I was four pounds and now I’m a heavyweight at six pounds of fury! I have started meeting new dogs on the puppy playground. We run up and down the fence together, then we’ll stop and they put their noses through and let me nibble on them before taking off running again. When my best friend Henry is around we'll lay in the shade and wrestle, he always lets me win. I’ll get on top of him and act real tough growling and bouncing around.
People still say I look like a bunny when I do that, but the other day I saw one and I’m pretty sure I don't look anything like him. Besides, I waited for him to come play with me and the lazy ‘ol thing just sat there and ignored me!
Hickory (and PAWS'Abilities Master handler Ken Nicodemus)
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Thank you for Reading!
Well, with that, August is over! We’re one step closer to the fall season.
We’ve had a wonderful time exploring so many different places with our dogs this month. Every new experience is monumental for our pups, helping them become confident and prepared for any adventure their future match may need to take with them.
Next up: September!
With gratitude,
Paragon Service Dogs
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