Early in 2016 my husband and I lost our most beloved dog to cancer. He was a beautiful border collie named Ernie and he was the love of our lives. As anyone who has had to say goodbye to a cherished pet will know, we were heartbroken and bereft. After moping around the house for a few months we decided to take our sad selves off to Mexico for a change of scenery. There, we met a couple from Calgary who told us all about the puppies they raised for this amazing charity called PADS!

My life as a vice- principal and teacher of students with special needs is hectic. I worried that raising a puppy would be problematic. My test was to do a 2 month trial with Amber ll from the yellow litter and see how it went. Without question, a puppy at school works! Enter Peony, a golden retriever puppy from the Bush Litter who joined our staff January 2016.

A few years ago, I was off work for an extended period of time and was fighting my way back to mental health. The most challenging part of the process was leaving the house. What would motivate me? Dogs. Volunteering at the Advanced Kennels was perfect for me.

What nobody realized yet, was that Mac had already made his choice. He bonded with that volunteer and made it clear over the months of advanced training, that he had chosen her as his person. He did well in class and moved forward in the program, but he was a different, happier dog when the volunteer came to the yellow compound.

We were so excited and hoped to get a sweet, little 8-week-old yellow lab only to arrive and be presented with a large gangly 6 month old pup named Santini. I must admit, we were both slightly disappointed as we had been dreaming about puppy breath. Within a week, we realized we had hit the jackpot as Santini knew almost every command in the manual PADS had provided to us. In puppy class, Santini was a rock star and always made us look amazing.

I went for an orientation and in the Spring of 2009 I began working Sunday afternoon in the kennel. I remember being there on the first Father’s Day after loosing my father. There I was, sitting on the floor of the Advanced Kennel with Poppy, now working at Canuck Place, with her head on my lap. It helped ease the pain at the loss of my father.

A basket of golden retriever puppies on the cover of the Burnaby Now in January 1999 caught Bob’s eye. PADS was looking for puppy raisers for their newest litter (the S litter) – Sarge, Seymour, Strider, Sully, Sadie, Sage, and Sydney. So, we decided to become involved and in late March we got the call that our “baby” had arrived, a chocolate lab named Milhouse.

I started co-raising PADS Cadence in February 2016, I think it was. Since I have been involved in PADS, I have met fantastic new people, participated in new experiences, and watched so many people smile because of the puppy at my side.

Advanced Kennel volunteer Lois shares how PADS dog Damon helps put her mind and body at ease.