Sunday, March 20, 2011

the really really really really big announcement

here i am, having to apologize for a long time between posts again. as promised in the title, i do have a really big announcement to make. i could have made it during this last week, as it was official and the materials were complete; but to be honest i was actually on a real vacation without any dogs, which is just about as rare and unheard of as it sounds, so i honestly didn't want to think about it :)

nevertheless, here i am back to the grind and ready to tell you all about it. now, as you know, i am very superstitious, and i do not talk about things until they are very, absolutely final. cryptic mentions of meetings and maybes have been made here on my lovely blog many-a-time, and i'm sure you find them most annoying; however, i believe in my skewed thinking patterns that i have to mention things so that they will happen, however not mention too much so as to jinx it, so to speak. therefore, i leave you in the limbo of half-truths. well, many of those have never been revealed, and that is because a vast majority of those occasions for the past two years have been meetings, briefings, presentations, and so on all leading up to this one project that i am finally, actually, no cruel jokes, ready to reveal.

paws4people is beginning an Assistance Dog Training Program and Certificate Program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. This planned 4-course progressive program will be offered through the School of Health and Applied Human Sciences as an add-on program for students pursuing degrees in any field who wish to add the practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of Assistance Dog training and untilization as it relates to people with disabilities. These students will have the opportunity to cater their experience with Assistance Dogs to their chosen field, for instance Recreation Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Education, Gerontology, etc. so that they may then apply this knowledge to their career field upon graduation. Students who complete the Certificate Program will also be eligible to receive a paws4people Assistance Dog to use in their line of work. The first course will be offered this Fall 2011, and will be re-offered along with the second course in Spring 2012.

This is a revolutionary, ground-breaking program opportunity not only for the hard-working paws4people family, but the Assistance Dog industry as a whole. Creating more highly educated and knowledgeable advocates for Assistance Dogs and the people they serve is crucial to the progression of these life-changing and often life-saving animals we are so passionate about.

We have created a page of our site to provide information and updates as they become available on this program. To see the information on the first course check out www.UNCW.paws4people.org and be sure to check back often for more news and info!

LOVE,K
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