PAWS for People Community Newsletter: Mid May, 2022 |
|
PAWS Dog Training Classes Provide the Confidence and Tools Needed to Become a PAWS Therapy Team |
|
Do you have a sweet, affectionate pet that you would like to share with others, but you don’t think that you are quite ready for prime time? PAWS can provide the training you need to get your pup ready through its PAWSitive Connections Dog Training Program. PAWS offers classes open to the general public at the office in Newark, DE and at Pets & Friends in Jennersville, PA. Five-week sessions include:
-
PAWS Puppy is a basic obedience class for puppies 10 weeks – 6 months of age.
-
PAWS Obedience 1 is a basic obedience class for dogs over 6 months of age.
-
Attention and Focus is for dogs who have completed a basic obedience course (with PAWS or another provider).
-
PAWS Obedience 2 is for dogs ready for the second level of obedience training.
-
Therapy Dog Prep is for dogs who have a solid training foundation.
PAWS Member Linda Okner and Thumbelina (Lina) have taken every class that PAWS offers starting when Lina was just 6 months and weighed about 4 lbs.
Linda shared, “Each one of the classes has a course objective. PAWS trainer Karen Powell breaks the classes into tiny lessons that you build on each week. By the time you graduate, you have been given the tools to achieve those objectives. Karen worked with us as a group and as individual teams. She asked about our own objectives with our dog, and since mine was to become a PAWS team, I was prepared when I took my STEX (Standards of Excellence) Test.”
“Karen taught us about boundaries with other dogs and how to look out for signs of stress in our own dog. Her classes are really about learning to communicate with your dog and then getting them to do what you need them to do. We learned through simple exercises and fun games. She taught us about the best treats to use to motivate our dog. She prepared me to do my therapy work. The final class she offered is about advanced visiting skills. That’s where Lina learned her signature trick to “ring the bell”. Lina has rung the bell for students after they have read, for soldiers returning from duty, and for children get vaccinations.”
When Linda and Lina were finished with the PAWSitive Connections dog training classes, they soon went through PAWS Orientation and Training. They passed their STEX test at the advanced level and were ready to visit!
“Karen knows her stuff. I trust her judgment. She has a gift of understanding dogs and then passing that information onto others. I use the lessons Karen taught me while Lina and I are doing our visits. Each class was carefully planned out to help me achieve my objectives and I have Karen to thank for that. Lina and I would not be the team we are today without her. I could have never done this by myself.”
|
|
Nemours Experience is What PAWS is All About |
|
PAWS Member Karen Houghton recently received some wonderful feedback from a Nemours staff member. We thought it was exactly what PAWS Pet Therapy is all about!
“Pet therapy is the highlight of our son’s treatment at Nemours. The medical team and other professionals are wonderful, but the pet therapy is amazing! We have been treated at Nemours for the better part of a year. On Day Two of our journey, a beautiful Bernese Mountain dog lumbered into our son's room. At first, our son didn’t know what to make of the fluffy giant. Then, “Bear” gently placed his huge head on our son’s bed, and our son’s face lit up! Our son was able to pet Bear’s head while he was processing this new medical environment. In that moment, all his worries about his pain and procedures disappeared. Ten days later, another big dog visited, and instantly, our son’s smile overtook his face. Sometime later, we met a small Maltipoo named “Piper” who was the epitome of a lap dog. Piper sat on our son’s lap and washed his worries away with her calm, white fluffiness.
Our son is treated at the hospital every three weeks for a week at a time. Every time we stay at the hospital, my wife and I try to focus our son’s attention on the positive. When Child Life tells us a dog is on the campus, the positive energy multiplies ten fold. There is something so tangible, yet intangible, about a visit from a four-legged friend in the hospital. The way a dog can lift the sprit of a patient cannot compare to a doctor’s joke, a cafeteria cupcake, or even a 6-foot tall sunflower balloon. Don’t get me wrong, those are wonderful, cheerful things, but they all pale in comparison to the positive, healing energy of pet therapy.”
|
|
PAWS Helps Recognize May as
Mental Health Awareness Month
|
|
Zac Clark, Season 16 winner of The Bachlorette, was at Sean’s House on April 25th speaking out about his own struggles with addiction and mental health. He also touched on the organization he co-founded called Release Recovery Foundation, which helps support individuals with addiction and mental health issues.
PAWS teams were requested to be on hand throughout the afternoon; Jimmy Sellers & Emmy Lou, Becky Cronin & Saphira and Debbie Oppermann & Nick participated.
Jimmy shared, “Thanks for this great time at Sean's House the other day. I got to be there during their panel discussion. Very powerful stuff. I am super glad I was there for it.”
PAWS is always happy to be there for mental health pet therapy!
|
|
Buster (Trish & Ed Fronczkowski) enjoyed a pup cup while at Barnes & Noble at PAWS Pet Affection Section to DeStress shoppers last weekend. |
|
Ari (Carolyn Baynes) was a winner and wore her Kentucky Derby crown of roses while at a Community Event at Southern Delaware Therapeutic Riding Center in Harbeson. |
|
PAWS for People receives some of the most interesting requests and inquiries. If you are present in the office late on a Friday afternoon, a raft of phone calls come in – some looking for service dogs, some thinking we are in Wilmington, North Carolina, and some from amazing people asking fascinating questions that we can say YES to.
Questions like:
“My parents just lost their dog and are looking for another. Does PAWS raise service dogs?” (answer: No, we’re therapy dogs, not service dogs OR an animal rescue.)
Or –" I just moved here from San Diego with my schnoodle and want to visit shut-ins from my church. Can I do that through PAWS?” (Answer: YES – we have a PAWS for Faith program that allows PAWS to work with all types of houses of worship and visit their congregants.
OR “I’m a last semester Communications grad student at Georgetown and want to work with PAWS to complete my “challenge” project. I’ll study whatever com challenge you identify and will give you a 35 page utilization program by the end of the semester. (Answer: most definitely.)
OR “Hi, I used to be a PAWS team years ago. I have a new puppy and want to start visiting again, I’ve really missed it. What do I have to do? (You all know the answer to this one.)
Answering the phone at PAWS is always an adventure – questions, donations, new teams, offers of help. Maybe the phone will ring this Friday and it’ll be YOU!
-Lynne Robinson, Executive Director
|
|
We are excited to continue our series of articles from Concord Pet Foods & Supplies, a PAWS Business Partner with extensive pet-related experience. We will continue providing informative articles in several of our e-Newsletters. The topic for this month is “Can Pets Get Sunburned?”
We all know the importance of wearing sunblock, sunglasses, broad-brimmed hats, and other gear to protect our skin from the harsh summer sun, but how do you protect your pets? Can pets get sunburned?
|
|
Whether you live at the beach or just visit, be sure to check out this unique shop in Lewes, DE.
We are so grateful to P.U.P.S. of Lewes who has come on board as one of PAWS newest gold sponsors.
Visit them at 117 Second Street in Downtown Lewes and check out their unique pet goodies.
|
|
Kathryn Meloni and her princess, Frangelica, have been a PAWS team since April of 2014. Frangelica is an 11-year-old Yorkshire Terrier/Maltese/Cairn Terrier/Pom Mix. They received their Master's Certification in January of 2015.
Together Kathryn and Frangelica log many hours as a PAWS in the Workplace team at Kathryn’s law office. Frangelica delights readers in the PAWS for reading program at both the Media and the Rachel Kohl libraries. This dynamic duo visits seniors at Granite Farm Estates, attends DeStress sessions and other Community Events. Previously, Kathryn helped PAWS partner with the Delaware County Court system in Media, PA, to establish a Courthouse Companions pet visitation program. You also might recognize Frangelica from her famous wedding to Shaggydog (Ashley Kennedy). The nuptials took place August 19, 2019. Frangelica & Shaggydog’s wedding was a wonderful fundraiser for PAWS!
A big thank you to Kathryn and Frangelica. What a great team! And you can always count on Frangelica to being the best dressed for the occasion.
|
|
Sheri Kearns and her sweet Maltipoo, Piper, joined PAWS for People in 2014 and embraced pet therapy with both arms and all four paws. Sheri and Piper logged over 50 hours in their first 8 months as a team and completed their Master’s Certification in February of 2015.
Piper is just the right size to curl up in a lap and over the years she has put her amazing snuggling skills to work at numerous sites including Lima Estates, Nemours Hospital for Children-Delaware, Ronald McDonald House, Helen K. Furness Library, Radnor Township School District, Courthouse Companions, as well as the Walkin’ and Talkin’ program and countless Community Events. This delightful duo is well known at Nemours for their marathon visits, often spending 3 hours or more with patients and their families. Sheri and Piper are always ready to jump in when teams are needed and bring joy wherever they go.
Thank you, Sheri and Piper, for your years of dedicated visiting and for sharing all that wonderful, fluffy love with so many people in need.
|
|
Thanks to our PAWS Partners |
|
|
|
Donate While You Shop
The AmazonSmile Foundation donates 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases when selected by customers. Choose PAWS for People when you log in: smile.amazon.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
