Harpo – giver of love, laughter, and service dog extraordinaire died this week from an aggressive form of cancer. It came on quickly, a blessing for Harpo, but gave little time for his beloved person, Robbie Bingler, to process the situation and ultimate loss. If Harpo could tell us, I know he would want us [...]
Got a dirty dog?
Our Junior Ambassadors are taking on Charlottesville’s dirty dogs to help support Service Dogs of Virginia. With help from the staff at Wash & Wag, they’ll make filthy foxhounds fabulous, muddy mastiffs marvelous, and stinky spaniels sparkle.
Saturday, April 3rd
12:00-4:00 p.m.
“You’re hooked as soon as you see your dog’s face when he realizes that he will be rewarded for using his nose.”
–from “Your Dog Nose No Bounds,” Whole Dog Journal, August 2009
Cathy became ill in December. During her recent 3-week hospitalization, Cayman and Bud remained by her side. When she was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, the nurses questioned whether Cayman could go with her. Bud fiercely told the nurses that Cayman went where Cathy went. And he did.
Decker is a 2-year old chocolate Labrador Retriever. Decker has done well with his training, but is being released from our service dog program because he is uncomfortable with the advanced responsibilities of service dog life. Decker is a sweet, loving dog whose greatest desire is his own person to love. He hopes his new person will love him and give him lots of attention and time in return. He has a quiet, sensitive personality. He is calm and laid back, after he has had an appropriate amount of exercise.
Training
Decker’s cues are many. He has been clicker trained with positive reinforcement. Decker walks beautifully on leash, has great house manners, knows sit, down, stay, wait, go to your mat, release, shake, touch and more. Decker enjoys knowing what his job is and being able to do it.
Decker is good with children and people and is well behaved at home. Like all service dogs, Decker has been raised to be with his person constantly. Therefore, we are looking for a home where someone will be able to be with Decker during the day, so that he will not be left alone for many hours at a time.
Decker has always been well behaved around other dogs in the household, but he would be happy to be the only dog in your house. He has gets along fine with cats and has lived on farms with horses and cows. Puppies are the exception, as Decker doesn’t like them and won’t tolerate them being around him.
Dear Friends:
I founded SDV nearly ten years ago with a measure of naivete, energy, ambition, and a desire to make a difference. Every year, there has been growth and evolution as my training skills and understanding of our clients has increased. But this year marks a major and significant turning point, as I turn over the Executive Director’s role to another.
Luke and Polar
Polar is an exceptional dog. He is exceptionally smart and energetic, and exceptionally capable of mischief. During his puppyhood, he managed to paw the keys off a laptop and eat “G,” “E,” “R,” and “V.” He swallowed several bars of soap, and also ruined his puppy raiser’s son’s brand new iPod. That was [...]
All of us at Service Dogs of Virginia were very excited to welcome a new crop of Labrador puppies over Labor Day weekend. Sandpiper, Raven, Finch and Magpie are all from breeder Kim Maddox at Ravenwood Farm Labradors in Keswick,Virginia. They are five months old, and have made huge progress in the short time they [...]
We don’t charge our clients for our dogs. Instead, we ask them to help us fundraise for the organization. Ella Lyons’ son Jack is waiting for his dog. The Lyons live in Northern Virginia and had a fantastic fund raiser at Dogfish Head Ale House that included a silent auction and a percent of the [...]
At our recent graduation ceremony, we honored Nancy Avery as our Volunteer of the Year. Nancy has been invaluable since she came on board. Nancy is a veteran puppy raiser, having successfully raised Glory and Nelson. She’s now raising Piper and Raven. (We guess one puppy wasn’t enough for her anymore.) In addition to [...]
