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Melon | February 2023

Wednesday, March 1, 2023 | Okanagan, Pupdates

Melon is a very sweet and happy boy enjoying the warmer weather. We are working on his durations.

Submitted by: Alanna Cooper

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Melon

ABOUT PADS

PADS dogs are raised and trained on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations.

We acknowledge the importance of these lands and their history. We do this to reaffirm our commitment and responsibility in improving relationships between nations and to improving our own understanding of local Indigenous peoples and their cultures.

We breed, raise and train fully certified assistance dogs. Our service (mobility & PTSD) and hearing dogs provide life-changing independence to those with disabilities. Our accredited facility dogs work with community professionals, such as teachers, RCMP and psychologists to help support healthy communities.

PADS is a fully accredited member of Assistance Dogs International.

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We train life-changing dogs for incredible people with disabilities & community care professionals.

Apr 29

Team Alpine has shared a wonderful heartfelt story about their time together thus far! ✨💙

"Alpine is my fourth service dog but first female and I feel a special bond with her already. She helps me by not only performing skills like opening/closing doors, pushing buttons, and retrieving items. She also gives me a sense of self and purpose. Having a PADS dog brings me out of my shell and gives me the self-confidence to live as independently as I can with a spinal cord injury. I recently started working again and don’t think I would have the confidence to do that without having a PADS dog. It is hard to quantify the impact and describe the effect that having a PADS dog has on not only your life but everyone they come into contact with. I visit the same stores in town and the people working there always comment how it makes their day better just by getting to see and say hi to my previous dogs and now Alpine when we come in. Their impact is immeasurable. I have had a PADS service dog for the last 22 years and cannot imagine life without one.

I would like to send a heartfelt thank you to everyone who was involved in raising, training, caring for, funding, and giving Alpine the chance to be matched with me. I feel blessed to have been paired with Alpine and feel it was meant to be. She has the most loving puppy face, is small in stature but has a wild side. I can’t count how many times I’ve been asked how old she is and heard the comments. “She’s just a pup, eh? She’s so tiny!” And I reply to their disbelief “nope she’s almost four, and makes up for her size with personality” I just love her!"

Thank you Team Alpine for sharing this touching story! ⭐🐾

#LifeInTheBlueVest #LifeChangers #TeamAlpine
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Apr 28

Becoming a Puppy-Raiser changes more than just one life. The Mak's shared a heartwarming story, highlighting the impact raising PADS Roan had on their entire family. ⭐🐾

"An unexpected side effect of puppy raising and sitting, which has now morphed into a major reason to raise, has been how it’s brought our family so much closer together. Raising a puppy comes with its highs and lows, and being able to approach those together not only strengthened our communication but also gifted us endless goofy memories. Roan gave us a run for our money, but together we can look back at his shenanigans and feel all the prouder of how far he’s come and how our family contributed to him finding his perfect job." 💖

If you want to join a community of like-minded dog lovers, apply to be a Puppy Raiser with PADS. Your contribution will impact the lives of so many. 🐶✨

If you're interested in applying or learning more, visit the link in our bio! 🔗

#ReasonsToRaise #PADSVolunteersRock
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Apr 28

Today is World Veterinary Day and we want to take a moment to show our appreciation not only to the veterinarians who work closely with our dogs but to veterinarians everywhere. 🌎🥼

A special shoutout to our primary care clinics:
💙 All Critters Animal Hospital (Surrey)
💛 Animal Emergency Clinic of the Fraser Valley (Langley)
💙 BC SPCA Animal Hospital (Vancouver)
💛 Burquitlam Animal Hospital (Coquitlam)
💙 Coastal Rivers Pet Hospital (Abbotsford)
💛 Chase River Veterinary Hospital (Nanaimo)
💙 MacLeod Trail Animal Hospital (Calgary)
💛 Seton Veterinary Clinic (Calgary)
💙 South Mission Animal Hospital (Kelowna)
💛 Sunridge Animal Hospital (Vernon)

Thank you for taking such delicate care of our furry friends. We appreciate your efforts in keeping our pets healthy, safe, and loved. 🩺🐾

If you want to show your veterinarian some love, tag them in the comments below! 💙

📸 Dr. Vanstone at the Burquitlam Animal Hospital. Photo credit: Bill Ng.

#WorldVeterinaryDay #LifeChangers
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Apr 27

PADS Casper is dressed for the elements to fill us in on some healthy rainy day activities! ☔⚡

Set up a DIY Agility Course! 🐾

Create a makeshift agility course using household items and guide your dog through the course! Navigating jumps and tunnels burns off excess energy and strengthens their coordination! 🐕

Grab Some Interactive Toys & Puzzles 🧩

Interactive toys and puzzle feeders are designed to challenge your dog’s cognitive abilities. These toys often require your dog to problem-solve in order to access treats or toys hidden inside. ⭐

Indoor Core Conditioning 🏋️

Use a perch pot to tone your pup's core. Have them do a few reps of putting their front paw up and then putting then back down. When they have master this, have them pivot their hind legs around a few times while keeping their front paws in place. This benefits their awareness of their hind legs and builds core strength.

Let us know if you plan on trying these during the rainy days to come! 🌧️✨

#CanineFitnessMonth #RainyDays
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Apr 27

Marvelous Maggie got a job as an Accredited Facility Dog and we could not be more proud! 🎈

A huge thank you to her village who helped support her on her epic journey! 💙✨

🐾 Breeder Caretaker: Sandra Koziol
🐶 Puppy-Raisers: Nicole Schnapp, Gail & Randy Cooper and Sandi & Dale Chapman
🎓 Advanced Sitters: Stephanie Hu & Paul Yi and Jenny Kinas
💛 1st Year Puppy Sponsor: Kerrie & Wesley Logan

Join us in celebrating her marvelous achievement! 🎉

#LifeInTheBlueVest #DogsWithJobs #ServiceDogsOfInstagram #PADSDogs
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Apr 26

We would like to thank everyone who came out to support the Paddles for PADS Charity Pickleball Tournament this past weekend. ⭐

We're also so thankful to all the participating pickleball clubs -- your support is 'kind of a big dill' for us here at PADS! 🎉

If you're eager to learn the donation amount raised through these tournaments... stay tuned! We will be sharing the totals soon! 👀✨

#PaddlesForPADS #LifeChangers
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Apr 25

Vroom! The Electric Vehicle Litter has stopped by to show off their yellow vests! 🚗

A big thank you to the Tuan family and their momma PADS Sounder for taking great care of these pups!

Join us in wishing these little pups well as they take off on their next big adventure! 🚙💨

#PADSPuppies #PADSElecticVehicleLitter
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Apr 24

It's #WishlistWednesday and we need your help!

We have two important accessibility projects underway - one in Calgary to renovate our new facility to make it accessible for our growing Alberta client base and another at the BC campus to repair/replace/reconfigure some ramps (that no longer meet code) as well as enclose our breeding center yard to keep our littlest pups safe and sound from the wildlife that shares our campus.

💙💙"Unleashing Accessibility" is a community-run fundraiser driven by our incredible #TeamCalgary to help support the larger renovation project where they've set a stupendous goal of $25K. Find the link in our bio or our stories to donate! 💙💙

💛💛 Our Burnaby accessibility improvements are all being built by our super-skilled volunteers (and are partially funded by Small Business BC's $5K accessibility grant) and we need to raise the remaining $7K to order our supplies. Donate and follow the progress of this campaign by clicking the link in our bio or stories 💛💛

Donate to one or both - or share this post - every little bit helps!!

#PADSBurnaby #PADSCalgary
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Apr 24

Team Cashew has sent us an update, and we love how they are settling into life together!

Simon had this to say:
"Firstly, a huge thank you to every breeder, foster home, trainer, and volunteer that had a hand in Cashew's raising. It's an incredible achievement.

Cashew has transitioned into our lives with incredible awareness and sensitivity. Our old chocolate lab Chico (14 yrs) is now even learning some of Cashew's cues. We live in a semi-rural area, so much of his general skills training and public access stuff happens when we go into our hamlet of Sechelt to go shopping. Many stores now know him by name.

He has come to quite a few shows I've played at, loud venues, strange folks, sticky floors. He assumes his observance at my partner Kara's side in the audience, and comes to visit me by the stage between sets. His life with us has a lovely duality that he manages with grace and intelligence; Kara takes the dogs for walks daily, fun off-leash trail walks, whereas I feed and groom, and work on an array of skills almost daily. We've begun a ritual of using the retrieve sequence to get him to pick up all of his toys and put them (not always successfully) into the toy bin. He loves to snuggle in the evening and is a bundle of kisses in the morning.

I live with chronic pain and mobility issues and Cashew is quick to comfort me when I'm having a bad spell. Things this past month have been a bit different since my neck issue, but before that Cashew and I were going into town regularly as he was my copilot for all errands. I couldn't love him any more."

#LifeInTheBlueVest
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May 3

Featured 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm

PADS in Bloom: Hanging Basket Fundraiser

Burnaby

Jun 8

Featured 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Burnaby Shred Event 2024

Burnaby

Jul 16

Featured All day

Willow Park Charity Golf Classic – July 16-18, 2024

Calgary

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