You are looking at the new proud member of The Toronto Humane Society! YAY!
I will be a volunteer dog walker and I will soon be training with THS where I will learn how to handle our canine pals. I am thrilled at the opportunity to help this great organization and the animals in need. I am well on my way on learning more about animal rescue and adoption!
Thank you Tom the Prof, Steph, Sarah, Nilla, Ivania, Lesley, Daniel and mom for all your support!
I'm looking forward to sharing more stories with you my fellow animal lovers.
Chief looks like your ordinary cute and adorable puppy, but this cute little fellow is a dog with a purpose. Chief is currently on his way to becoming a dog guide for the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides.
Since 1983 The Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides has assisted thousands of Canadians with medical and physical disabilities by providing them with dog guides at no cost. This Oakville, Ontario based organization depends on the generosity of its network including donors, volunteers, corporate donors and Lions Clubs to assist those in need.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Andrew Thuss, an account executive at Trevor//Peter Communications and a volunteer for Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides. Andrew became familiar with Canada Dog Guides through a work project with Fido (one of Canada Dog Guides' corporate donors) and together with his fiancé Kate, they decided to volunteer as foster parents to a future dog guide.
Enter Chief the puppy...
Andrew and Kate's journey began with an on-line application which was shortly followed by an interview with Canada Dog Guides. Andrew comically mentions that the interview itself was to ensure that they weren't looking to steal the puppy - joking aside, he mentions that the interview was focused on getting to know them as people and whether they would be a good fit for fostering.
Chief, the happy-go-lucky lab, came into their lives about six weeks ago. He was only eight weeks old when Andrew and Kate picked him up from Canada Dog Guides facility. According to his foster parents, Chief is a mild manner and focused lab who loves to meet new faces.
As a foster parent, Andrew and Kate's role is to house train Chief, to teach him general commands and more importantly to socialize him with people and other dogs. As a dog guide, Chief will be exposed to various types of environments and people. Therefore to ensure his success, it is vital that he becomes accustomed to all types of stimuli. Andrew and Kate are therefore taking Chief everywhere they go.
What's amazing is that Andrew and Kate are fortunate to be able to take Chief into their respective workplaces - Andrew mentions that they take turns taking Chief to work. How great is that?! A virtual high-five goes out to Trevor//Peter Communications from Furever Pals for supporting their employees with this wonderful cause.
There is a lot of responsibility that comes with becoming a foster parent to a future dog guide. Andrew mentions that there are rules that come with this job to ensure Chief's success as a working dog. For example Chief is not allowed on furniture, he must sleep in his crate and feeding time is a disciplined activity.
In addition, Andrew and Kate must take Chief into the Canada Dog Guides facility every six weeks, so that they can check on his physical development and progress. Despite all this work, this is a labour of love for this amazing couple - they are focused on Chief's best interest so that he can help someone in need one day.
Chief will remain a resident at Andrew and Kate's home for the next year or so. After this time he will be enrolled in dog training school at Canada Dog Guides where he will be training for approximately four to six months. Upon successful completion of dog training school, Andrew and Kate will have the opportunity to attend Chief's graduation and they will also have the chance to meet the person that will eventually be partnered with Chief.
Andrew had a few words of advice for anyone considering volunteering for a foster program such as this. He emphasizes that it is a 24/7 job specially in the beginning when the dog is young. Andrew mentions that without Kate he would have had a rough start and recommends that more than one person gets involved to ensure that the puppy gets the required care and attention.
As tempting as cuddling with Chief on the coach sounds , you need to keep the end goal in mind Andrew says. It's vital to see beyond the cute and adorable puppy face because the rules trump anything else. It takes approximately $20,000 to raise, train and place these dogs therefore the last thing you want to do is impede their development. I encourage you to visit The Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides website to learn more about this wonderful organization and how to get involved.
I want to thank Andrew for taking the time to talk to me about his experience, it was great to hear about the amazing work he's doing first hand. Stay tuned for future Chief tails as Andrew has graciously offered to give us updates. I also want to thank Ryan Chan for introducing us - Ryan your awesome! (Please vote for Ryan's picture on NOW Magazine, he's an amazing photographer! Check out his website too )
The Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides on the Rick Mercer Report
Remember my hypothetical 'Office Puppy' from my last post?! Turns out my very talented photographer friend and fellow George Brown intern, Ryan Chan, had TWO office puppies at his internship! Say what?!
Ryan mentions in his blog that they had "frequent furry guests" at Trevor//Peter Communications. Meet Molly and McAllister, they appear to be Yorkshire best buds!
Molly
McAllister
TPS Team Hard at Work
Ryan also mentions hat he had an amazing experience at his internship , I can certainly attest to his passion and enthusiasm for the work he was doing at Trevor//Peter Communications - Ryan will absolutely be a valuable member of the TPC team. I hope you returned as a hired employee once we graduate Ryan!
Don't forget Take Your Dog to Work Day is happening June 21st - let's promote and encourage adopting from local shelters and humane societies!
As part of my program at George Brown College, I recently finished
an internship at a members-only home décor and furniture website. I worked
closely with the buying and merchandising team to co-ordinate and set up the
daily sales events held on the company website. During my time there I met an amazing group of people, who happened to be animal lovers just like
myself.
Steph was my go-to person at the office, in fact she was
everyone’s go-to person because she is a wiz with numbers and the nicest person
I have met. We happen to stumble across the conversation of dogs one day and
she shared with me that her mom volunteers with a local
rescue and adoption organization called ARF Ontario. (Stay tuned for the ARF
Ontario posts, I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to hear about the
organization from the volunteers themselves.)
Before I knew it 'puppy talk' became a daily topic of conversation, Sarah (an extremely talented
writer and the wittiest person I know) quickly joined, followed by George (a fellow
George Brown intern and friend) who was also a fan of dogs.
Often during our breaks, we would scour the web to find
dogs up for adoption and gush over how adorable and cute they were. Our
go to websites became Pet Finder, ARF Ontario, THS, and Ugly Mutts. The inception
of the 'office puppy' soon followed.
We began fantasizing about having a dog in the office, especially on those stressful days when things weren’t exactly going as planned. This hypothetical 'office puppy' made such a difference to our team's mood and morale, that I can see why pets are used for therapy. We weren't seriously considering getting a dog for the office, but it certainly made us chuckle at the idea.
Fido at the Office
Interesting enough there are many companies that allow
employees to bring their pets to work. According to a 2011 article published in
The Sydney Morning Harold, “In the US its been an established practice for
years, with an estimated 17 per cent of business permitting animals and a
national Take Your Dog to Work Day®”
Take Your Dog to Work Day® is happening Friday June 21st2013
and it’s an event to promote and encourage adoption. It goes without saying
that not every company or industry is suitable to have such practices - however it's a fantastic way to promote adoption to those considering a pet.
Looking back Sarah, Steph, George and I had our own version of this event in our office through our 'puppy talks' and 'office puppy' chats. Towards the end of my internship, I was even having 'kitty
chats' with Michelle (Our online production artist extraordinaire) and Cindy
(Logistics/customer service/office manager mastermind). Our love for animals
was definitely one of the reasons why we bonded, and why we worked so well
as a team.
I want to thank Steph and Sarah for taking me under their
wings in the time I was there, I learned a great deal about the
business and enhanced my skills thanks to them.
Steph, Sarah, George, Michelle and Cindy thank you for such an
amazing experience - you guys fueled my passion to help our furry friends and Furever Pals is my way of continuing the conversation we
began on animal rescue and adoption and sharing it with the rest of the world!
Hello my fellow animal lovers, I hope that all is well!
As I mentioned in my last post, my intentions are to bring
awareness to animal rescue and adoption. I have a lot of ideas up my sleeve on
the stories that I want to share with you guys, so stay tuned as they are a work
in progress! However, before I start posting any further, l thought I should
share my goals with you since I will need your help and support in achieving
them.
My goal is to become an ambassador of animal rescue and
adoption. More specifically, I want to:
·Bring awareness to the fact that rescue animals
make a great addition to families looking for pets.
·Shine a light on the organizations involved in animal
rescue and adoption, and help them find forever homes for animals in their care.
·Inform potential adopting families of the
adoption process and what to expect when adopting.
I want to clarify that I have learned a lot about this cause
in doing some research of my own. However I have much to learn from the people
and organizations involved in this cause. Furever Pals will be the way that I share my
new found knowledge with all of you and here is where I need your help.
I ask that you share my blog link with others in your social
network, so that I can share this information with as many people as possible.
As a budding business analyst, thanks to Tom the Prof and a
handful of other professors at George Brown, I will be using an incredible tool
called Google Analytics . This is an amazing analytical tool that I have linked
to my blog, and it will allow me measure metrics like number of visits, pages
viewed per visit and average time on Furever Pals. What’s also amazing is that
I can sort the data by dimensions - for example the source that referred the
visit to my blog (e.g. facebook.com or Twitter.com ) or even the city or
region from which people are viewing my blog from (I actually got some visitors from Indonesia and Russia checking out Furever Pals!)
What’s great about GA is that these metrics and dimensions
are presented on graphs and tables, which assist me in monitoring and improving
Furever Pals based on your visits, referrals and interaction with the blog.
So far the numbers are not the greatest, granted Furever
Pals is a new comer to the virtual world and I have yet provide you with
interesting tails. But with your help animal lovers, I can achieve positive
results and bring more attention to rescue and adoption and help animals find
forever homes.
Welcome my fellow animal lovers, my name is Ana and I will be your blogger on Furever Pals!
My tail begins on a fateful night on September 1998 when my furball Choby came into my life. I had begged and pleaded with my parents for years to get a dog, that night my persistence finally paid off. Choby came home that night in the pocket of my jacket - yes ladies and gentlemen he was that tiny!
We've seen him go from a little pup discovering the world around him, to a prissy and yappy young yorkie-pooh. He loved playing with keys - yes keys! I always thought he was a bit of an oddball for that.
Choby is now 15 years old, he is a shadow of his former self. He is blind, deaf and would much rather sleep all day than be part of commotion around him. I miss those days when he would come charging to the door to greet me. It's tough but I've come to accept that this is the circle of life.
Choby smiling for the camera
My mom asked me about a year ago if I would get another dog after Choby goes to doggy heaven. At the time, I said, "No. The thought of Choby not being here breaks my heart. He's been part of me and this family for so many years, that bringing another dog into this house just doesn't seem right."
I'm certain that dog-lovers everywhere have read a Dog's Last will before, but I'd like to share it as it explains my viewpoint today.
Thankfully, Choby is still with us, and although he is a special needs dog at his old age, he is in a loving home that tends to his needs. There are other dogs like Choby out there, however the difference is that many of them do not have loving homes.
Furever Pals is dedicated to Choby, it is my way of honoring all the love and joy he has brought and continues to bring into our lives.
My intentions for this blog is to bring awareness to animal rescue and adoption. I have much to learn from the organizations involved and the dedicated volunteers who do this for the love of animals. I invite you visit my blog as I discover more about this cause and I welcome others to share their stories with me.
