Helping special needs children have a better quality of life!
Canine-Angels.org                                                   September/October 2012

Calendar of Events

 

October 6

 

Fifth Annual

Walk With the Angels

Dog Walk and Family Fun Day

Mason Regional Park

Irvine, CA

 

If you missed this great event, it's not too late to help. Many of our "attendees" don't live close enough to attend, so they are walking where they live. You'll have to walk your dog anyway, so this week, Walk for the Angels. Click here to sign up to walk where you are.

 

http://tinyurl.com/94u3rbh 

 

October 13

Oaklane Retirement Facility Presents:
A Day for Dogs 

 1-4 pm
Visit our Cast Booth
Grants Pass, Oregon 

 

Oct. 22 

 

CAST Board Meeting
  10 am - 12 pm
Evergreen Room
Grants Pass, Oregon
(If you have skills that 
would benefit our board
and are interested
in becoming a board 
member please let
us know.) 

Pickles and Pumpkins - ready for Fall.

 

Dressage Goes to the Dogs
 
The Southern California CAST crew of graduates, puppy raisers and staff recently attended "Cool August Nights - Dressage Goes to the Dogs"

This event at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center featured entertainment with horses and dogs, a wonderful dinner, and a silent auction in which all of the proceeds were donated to Canine Angels. We had the opportunity to make a presentation, too. Our pack of people and pups got to circle the arena as the crowd was informed about the amazing things our teams can do. 

This event raised over $3,500 for CAST! A special thank you to Cornerstone Event Management, Glenda McElroy and Jennifer Killinger for a wonderful evening!
Kennel Wish List




October is Advanced Training Turn-In Month

Please help our new students settle in by donating to CAST
Any donation, large or small, helps with turn-in expenses such as vet bills, transportation and medical tests.  Sturdy dog toys, dog treats, shampoo, and flea control products are always needed as well.
Thank you!



Dog food is always needed...
currently we're feeding 
 California Natural Foods 
click here for information on their products:

 


Order bricks on-line at cast.engravedbricks.com or contact Kelly for order forms at [email protected]




Help Canine Angels with a recurring monthly donation:
http://tinyurl.com/cg6b6m8
 


Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) - Are you a federal employee or member of the military? Do you know someone who is? If so, you can help Canine Angels! We are a member of the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) program, an annual fundraising drive in which donations are made through payroll deductions of employees who designate CAST as their charity of choice. Our CFC number is 43661.   

Quick Links...

13475 N. Applegate Road
Grants Pass, OR 97527
(888) K9-ANGLS
(541) 846-6400

[email protected]
www.Canine-Angels.org
Join Our Mailing List
This week, our puppies who have been with their raisers for the past year will begin arriving at our training center for the next phase of their journey. During Advanced Training, these dogs will be taught to pick up and hold items, push access buttons, close cabinet doors, turn on and off lights, and so much more. They'll also have their health and temperaments evaluated. By next summer, they'll all have found the "jobs" that they're best suited for.

 

Whether the perfect position is that of a Service or Social Dog, a Pal or Facility Dog, a Breeder or Career Change Dog, each one will end up right where they belong, and make a positive lifelong impact on the families they are placed with. A heartfelt THANK YOU to our puppy raisers for investing so much of your time and love into giving your pups the best start on this great journey. Without you, we wouldn't be able to Help Kids Achieve Independence.

 

You can learn more about the different "jobs" our Canine Angels may have here: http://canine-angels.org/DogsWeProvide/TypesOfTeams.html

 

This time of year is the most expensive for Canine Angels with transportation, medical testing, vaccinations, toys and treats being provided for our new canine students. There are many ways you can help that range from donating supplies to sponsoring a specific dog in training. We also have a new sponsorship opportunity this year in which donors may sponsor a play yard or kennel run that will be home to many Canine Angels dogs over the next year. You can read about sponsorships here:

 

Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or if you'd like to learn more about sponsorships.

 

Take good care,
Kelly

Kelly Stack
Executive Director CAST training facility
Facility Dogs - Canine Friendship at the Hospital
Pumpkin cheers a patient at Shriner's
Pumpkin, a Goldendoodle who graduated CAST with Cathy Bones in 2010, is able to make an impact on so many lives in her role as a Facility Dog at Shriner's. 
 
 About half of the patients at Shriner's Hospital for Children in Sacramento return year after year. Some of them, especially those who live out of the area/country will stay there for some time while their doctors perform as many procedures as they can schedule. The children with burn injuries need lots of surgeries and after care, and Spina Bifida patients are there several times a year for 'tune-ups'. The other half are kids who are having procedures like scoliosis surgery, and will then return to their local doctors for general pediatric care.
 

"Punkie" can often be found in Cathy's office, and the kids know that she is there - they stop by to say hello or play ball with her in the hallway (she waits for them with a ball handy).  Some kids are really into engaging with Pumpkin and will stop by several times a day, and some just want to look, but they all know she is there.

Pumpkin's other duties include keeping kids who are waiting to have surgery company and walking them to pre-op, lying on the table with kids who are having their casts changed,  and providing a little distraction and doing tricks for kids in the waiting room.  

 

Punkie also attends new employee and volunteer orientations to help

inform people about the hospital's therapy and service dog programs. Through her many abilities, Pumpkin works with over 1,000 children each year!

 

Proud partner Cathy says, "Pumpkin is gentle, sweet and pretty, and people are always impressed with her. She is very, very good at making people smile - parents, staff, potential donors, crying kids,

Pumpkin and Cathy Bones
 

(and, of course, me). I am always amazed when a child (that I could swear I have never seen

 before) greets Punkie by name and is obviously familiar with her - very few of them know MY name, but they sure do know Punk's!"

 

 

 

Graduate Story -  Pal Dog Comet

 

It's been an amazing week. First off, we want to just once again say   thank you to your wonderful organization and for the amazing things you are capable of doing. You're able to bring about enormous change in the life of a child. We also want to say thank you to Sheila again - she was an amazing person to work with. I'm sure we will cross paths with Sheila and others again.   

 

I personally want to pass along something that for the first time I saw   from our daughter, Rebecca. I was working in my study and she had taken Comet upstairs to her bedroom. She put Comet into a down stay, got a book from her bookshelf and proceeded to read out loud to Comet. You might ask, "Why is that so special?" It's the first time ever I've heard Rebecca read like this. She reads to us occasionally at night during the school year and reads of course to the teacher at school, but she is not one to just go and read on her own, no matter how much we suggest it.   

 

Passive activities are 'more appealing'. But yesterday she decided to read to her friend. She made a little school setting in her room with her 'student' and was playing the teacher. This was truly amazing to hear and witness. I went upstairs and watched for a little bit before she realized I was there. To just hear and see that confirmed in our minds the reason why we started down this path. She so much wants a friend who is unconditional and she has now found that friend in Comet. That was magical to see.    

 

Jonathan & Robin & Rebecca & Comet