Dogs with Wings
User Story
By Michael Fisher
“Giving up a puppy to go on as a service dog, you know that it is coming, and that is what they’re raised for and it’s sad, but at least you know they’re going on to fulfill their purpose in life…that makes it feel a little better.”
Diane and Cheryl volunteer for Dogs with Wings Assistance Dog Society. Dogs with Wings supplies service dogs including guide dogs, autism dogs, for the hearing-impaired, for people with cerebral palsy, and for others with special needs. Based in Edmonton, they are one of only five schools in Canada that train dogs for the blind, and 1 of 2 nationally that train dogs for children with autism. Dogs with Wings receives no assistance from the government and relies on the generous community in Edmonton to be successful. With a small staff and 100 volunteers, they get their funding from donations, fundraising campaigns, and corporate sponsors. Their newest program will raise and train dogs to help returning soldiers who suffer from brain trauma.
The society relies on volunteers like Cheryl and Diane to care for, raise, and help train young service dogs. Cheryl operates a whelping home where Macy, a golden lab, births puppies once a year that will be later trained as service dogs. In Cheryl’s words, the Dogs with Wings community is like “a village to raise a child,” except in their case it’s “a village to raise a bunch of puppies.” The puppies are shared among volunteers, sometimes spending weeks at a time away from their original caregiver. This helps them acclimatize to different environments and people. It also helps volunteers prepare for when the puppies leave for their adult training homes and start puppy school. This transition is challenging for volunteers because giving up a puppy is “like giving up one of your kids.” Cheryl remembers how when people give up their one-year-old dogs, “you feel for everybody.” But, as Diane says, “the whole idea is to do something to make a contribution to the larger community; to make a difference.”
Unlike a standard pet, you can take service-dogs-in-training everywhere with you; into malls, restaurants, and places you wouldn’t ordinarily take a dog. “They slow you down a little bit,” Diane smiles, “but they’re so much fun, and you meet people. People will come up to you and introduce themselves because of the dogs.” One evening Cheryl saw a homeless man outside her backyard looking at the puppies. First she had been nervous and protective of the dogs, but she decided to go and talk to him. It turned out he was interested in dogs, and they talked for almost half-an-hour. Cheryl said she would never have gone up to the man and started the conversation on her own, but the dogs had been a shared interest.
After completing two years of training, the dogs are matched with applicants who need specific services. The Society then holds a graduation that celebrates the team that made the dog a success. “You hear from the person who is getting the dog [and] how it’s going to change their life or already has.” Seeing the dogs happy in their placements and doing the job they were meant to do makes the whole process worth it. Still, it’s like sending children off to college knowing they won’t come back. I think it takes a special kind of person to willingly make that sacrifice over and over again. I’m proud to say that we have people like that living in Edmonton.
