Trick and Treat!
Spooky season is upon us, but fear not because we have plenty of fun treats for you! Keep reading to get the latest important pupdates on Lottie and Cal. Get the scoop about our newest Atlas Certified Trainers. And for some extra fun, get some tips on how you can teach your own dog some awesome tricks!
Thank You!
First and foremost, a huge thank you. Our hearts are filled with gratitude. We raised nearly $7,000 on our #BeTheDifference campaign, all thanks to our generous and caring donors. Your gifts are being put to work immediately. While the cost of training or acquiring a service dog can be as high as $40,000, your donations allow us to provide customized one-on-one training at a fraction of that price ($700 to be exact!). Your donations ensure that we are able to continue helping people with disabilities access the life-changing benefits of having a trained service dog.
Meet our Newest Certified Trainers
A great big congratulations to Claire and Laura on their hard work and completing our Trainer Academy!
We are so excited that Claire is our very first international Atlas Certified Trainer who is proudly bringing Atlas’ standards to Toronto, Canada. Claire tells us that she is “thrilled to have had the opportunity to attend and complete the Atlas Trainer Academy. I’m more confident than ever in my training and coaching skills, and I know that I have access to an incredible, cutting-edge community for support. Their dedication to ethical training methods and mission to expand access to service dogs meshes so well with my own values.“
After becoming an Atlas Team Facilitator, and then raising a puppy for Atlas, Laura has now become an Atlas Certified Trainer. Laura has been involved in puppy raising and training for many years. But she wanted more. “Atlas put the final puzzle piece in place for me. The human. A human’s need for a skilled dog is what got me started as a puppy raiser, but I wanted more. I wanted to be life on life, empowering people to be involved with the training of their own service dog. I continue to be amazed at how Atlas nurtures both people and dogs.”
Lottie and Cal's Journey
Cal, the sweet chocolate lab that we have been raising for Amy, a Washington veteran, is now 11 months old! He is maturing nicely and working on learning more skills out in public and around distractions. While he is a puppy full of energy, he is also great at self-soothing and finding a toy to settle on his own. He happily walks quietly past as other dogs, even when they are barking at him. He is a big cuddler and will be awesome for the deep pressure therapy that his person wants.
While it was a hard decision, Lottie has let us know that she would be happiest as a pet. Though she had continued to make progress in her training alongside her amazing puppy raiser, Laura, the life of an Atlas Assistance Dog was just not for her. And that’s ok! Not all dogs are suited for service work and sometimes the best thing to do for all involved is a change in career path. Lottie has returned to her puppy raiser and will be living a happy life as her pet. We cannot thank Laura enough for all the hard work and dedication she has put into Lottie’s training and we are thankful they will continue life together. Lottie had been slated to go to Amy, a WA veteran. Luckily, Cal has stepped in to fill those paws.
Cal, now 7 months old, had yet to find his future client. It looks like the universe knew that he just needed to still be available for Amy with the decision to career change Lottie. They got to meet this past weekend and the sparks and snuggles were immediate. Cal charmed Amy and did wonderfully meeting the various other animals on her farm. He is also quite proud of himself for graduating his group puppy class with honors and is making great progress with his puppy raisers Ginger and Sue. He still has a few months to go before being ready to live with Amy, and we can’t wait to see him continue his amazing progress. Stay tuned for more on Cal’s continued training.
Wanna teach your dog how to push a button? This is not only a great building block for many service dog skills, but can also be a great trick for you to show off. So, get those treats ready and the tricks going. Just remember to keep the chocolatey ones to yourself!
Looking for Board members to join Atlas and help further our mission. Key expertise areas of leadership needed include fund development, public relations, marketing, outreach and general non profit leadership experience.
We are also looking for passionate volunteers in a variety of areas such as website management and SEO, fund development, outreach, and more! Contact us for more details.
Blogs! Check out our latest blog and learn all about the importance of service dogs in the lives of people with disabilities. Yes, they can retrieve items, alert to low blood sugar, and perform other incredible tasks; but they also dramatically improve physical and psychosocial health, life satisfaction, and have been shown to decrease social isolation. Find out more here >>