hi all! we have a new, exciting, dynamic website we are building and a lot of information people have been asking for is finally getting added and is accesible! it is still a work in progress, and always will be, but it's moving forward and we're very excited about it!
don't miss my blog posts, pictures, and videos of the new puppies that will be housed there. visit it and make sure to sign up for the email updates to stay informed about what's going on...that feature is going to be so great in the days ahead!
thanks everyeone!LOVE,K
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Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
lakin
well, here's yet another big announcement. we are officially beginning the opening of our sixth paws4prisons program. this time, it's different, though. this program is opening at Lakin correctional center, a west virginia department of corrections female facility. that's right, a state institution. isn't funny how life makes you eat crow and do things you said you never would sometimes?
lakin has a dedicated wing consisting of 22 cells and 44 inmate beds that is dedicated to dog programming. a different program has operated there in the past. this facility, with the dedicated housing wing, yards, etc. is set up like no other facility we have. we loved it at first sight! we have obviously had several meetings there, and last friday dad and i had our first presentation to the population and small group meeting with the inmates who had been in the dog program before. they asked lots of great questions and we stated to educate them on our philosophy, training styles, requirements, etc. in addition to the big "philosophical" change over that will have to occur in the inmates staying in or joining the program, our year-long academic program is also a very new (and scary!) concept to them. hey, i can relate, i'm not exactly having a party being back in school these days! due to the impending litter, we have not yet set a date to move dogs to lakin and officially start the program. but they have been left with two of our initial academic packages for self-study as we start to work on logistics over here.
speaking of the puppies, they are due one week from today! i'm holding a little contest on our facebook page. the person who posts the closest guess to the date and time of the first puppy's arrival will get to choose a name once the naming theme and name list are revealed! start guessing! in the meantime, we'll be busy trying to get everything ready for them...but are you ever really ready for the baby?!
LOVE,K
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lakin has a dedicated wing consisting of 22 cells and 44 inmate beds that is dedicated to dog programming. a different program has operated there in the past. this facility, with the dedicated housing wing, yards, etc. is set up like no other facility we have. we loved it at first sight! we have obviously had several meetings there, and last friday dad and i had our first presentation to the population and small group meeting with the inmates who had been in the dog program before. they asked lots of great questions and we stated to educate them on our philosophy, training styles, requirements, etc. in addition to the big "philosophical" change over that will have to occur in the inmates staying in or joining the program, our year-long academic program is also a very new (and scary!) concept to them. hey, i can relate, i'm not exactly having a party being back in school these days! due to the impending litter, we have not yet set a date to move dogs to lakin and officially start the program. but they have been left with two of our initial academic packages for self-study as we start to work on logistics over here.
speaking of the puppies, they are due one week from today! i'm holding a little contest on our facebook page. the person who posts the closest guess to the date and time of the first puppy's arrival will get to choose a name once the naming theme and name list are revealed! start guessing! in the meantime, we'll be busy trying to get everything ready for them...but are you ever really ready for the baby?!
LOVE,K
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Saturday, April 9, 2011
O MY GOSH
okay everyone, this is one of the most exciting things yet...probably THE most exciting...and i know that's saying a lot.
there is a full page in may's issue of O - Oprah Magazine dedicated to paws4vets and the IKEA life improvement sabbatical contest!!!!! it is soooooo cool!
please run out and pick one up if you can!
today we have the bi-annual recertification of the va chapter ops dogs. on tuesday, LILLY gets her xray so i can count those puppies. my gut says there are a lot, because she is already extra big, but maybe they're just really fat, we'll see!
LOVE,K
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there is a full page in may's issue of O - Oprah Magazine dedicated to paws4vets and the IKEA life improvement sabbatical contest!!!!! it is soooooo cool!
please run out and pick one up if you can!
today we have the bi-annual recertification of the va chapter ops dogs. on tuesday, LILLY gets her xray so i can count those puppies. my gut says there are a lot, because she is already extra big, but maybe they're just really fat, we'll see!
LOVE,K
Click to Help
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
today
well, today, allison april, CLAIRE and i attended the loudoun county chamber of commerce 2011 valor awards. we were invited by lisa, mom of NORMAN, the one and only wonderful mastiff on the northern va paws4people ops team. we were guests at the telos table, and got to attend this wonderful event honoring many brave first responders who saved lives in our community this year.
april came as a purposeful challenge to herself to get through many aspects of this event, but i will let her tell you about that herself when she gets a chance to on her own blog. i took CLAIRE to be april's substitute service dog for the day, as BOURKE is still working on his public access training and wasn't around for me to take this time. i think CLAIRE did the trick though!
we had a lovely time and CLAIRE was a great educator and ambassador, as usual. but tomorrow it's time to conquer homework, for real....
LOVE,K
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april came as a purposeful challenge to herself to get through many aspects of this event, but i will let her tell you about that herself when she gets a chance to on her own blog. i took CLAIRE to be april's substitute service dog for the day, as BOURKE is still working on his public access training and wasn't around for me to take this time. i think CLAIRE did the trick though!
we had a lovely time and CLAIRE was a great educator and ambassador, as usual. but tomorrow it's time to conquer homework, for real....
LOVE,K
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wilmington 5k!
well, this weekend we traveled down to wilmington for the 3rd annual paws4people wilmington 5k! the race and fun walk took place on campus at UNCW and was yet another huge success. with nearly 200 participants, all of our race tshirts were gone! we have a great time, lots of doggies came and had tons of fun, and angie, rachel, and their team put in more hard work than i can imagine making it better than ever. i already can't wait for next year, after our courses are in full swing, to have even more student and campus participation!
after some meetings last week, i have yet another huge announcement to make about a big, exciting expansion...although it is now official, dad is completing some more meetings this week to finalize plans and logistics, at which time i will announce it...i won't leave it hanging too long this time, i promise.
i can't believe it's tuesday, because of 4 days in wilmington it feels like monday, but it's better to be ahead than behind i guess. who needs monday anyways?! i'm in the third week of my master's classes online now, and i was one full week ahead on work in preparation for my trip this weekend...but now i'm not ahead anymore and that's stressing me out already! i much prefer to work ahead. today allison, april, CLAIRE, and i are attending an event which i will post about tonight, because i truly don't know what to expect so i'd rather tell you about it afterwards! then, i need to get busy and do a week or two's assignments so i can be ahead again, because this weekend is already booked, too!
lots to update you on in the coming days....consider the blog drought over! see you soon!
oh! and be sure to visit the paws4people facebook page to become a fan and see race pictures!!
LOVE,K
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after some meetings last week, i have yet another huge announcement to make about a big, exciting expansion...although it is now official, dad is completing some more meetings this week to finalize plans and logistics, at which time i will announce it...i won't leave it hanging too long this time, i promise.
i can't believe it's tuesday, because of 4 days in wilmington it feels like monday, but it's better to be ahead than behind i guess. who needs monday anyways?! i'm in the third week of my master's classes online now, and i was one full week ahead on work in preparation for my trip this weekend...but now i'm not ahead anymore and that's stressing me out already! i much prefer to work ahead. today allison, april, CLAIRE, and i are attending an event which i will post about tonight, because i truly don't know what to expect so i'd rather tell you about it afterwards! then, i need to get busy and do a week or two's assignments so i can be ahead again, because this weekend is already booked, too!
lots to update you on in the coming days....consider the blog drought over! see you soon!
oh! and be sure to visit the paws4people facebook page to become a fan and see race pictures!!
LOVE,K
Click to Help
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
action-packed tuesday
well, yesterday was quite busy. i was asked to speak at my alma mater, loudoun valley high school, in a seminar about alumni making a difference i have a presentation on the beginnings of p4p right there in a special education classroom at valley, and all that p4p has grown to encompass today. the students were great, and it was wonderful to see a lot of my old teachers again! the students were particularly excited to hear that they could sign up to come socialize the new litter of puppies, so i think we'll be getting a lot of extra help with that!
....that's right, i said new puppies! yesterday we did the official ultrasound and LILLY is officially pregnant! i don't try for a reliable puppy count until it's xray time (3 more weeks) but we know there are at least 4 babies in there as that's what we saw in one stationary view on the u/s. LILLY wasn't too fond of the machine, though, so she decided to stand, so we could only get a shot of one side at a time...like i said, not a reliable count!
so, this litter will be due on april 25! here we go again!!
LOVE,K
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....that's right, i said new puppies! yesterday we did the official ultrasound and LILLY is officially pregnant! i don't try for a reliable puppy count until it's xray time (3 more weeks) but we know there are at least 4 babies in there as that's what we saw in one stationary view on the u/s. LILLY wasn't too fond of the machine, though, so she decided to stand, so we could only get a shot of one side at a time...like i said, not a reliable count!
so, this litter will be due on april 25! here we go again!!
LOVE,K
Click to Help
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
Click to Help
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
Click to Help
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