Service dogs in-training take field trip to St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market
Some very special dogs took a field trip Thursday to the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market.
The pups, all from National Service Dogs, strolled among the stalls with their volunteers as part of their training.
“This is a very busy, very exciting environment. Lots of smells, and people, and things to notice and so we have staff and volunteers here, training and working with our dogs as we walk through the St. Jacobs Market,” Rochelle Barber, National Service Dogs’ director of operations, explained.
Barber said many of the dogs are in the advanced training program and are just days away from meeting the clients they’ll be working with.
“We train our dogs to work with children with autism, we also have a program for veterans and first responders with post traumatic stress disorder. We also have a facility dog program where its canine assisted intervention and they work with organizations or health professionals with a variety of different people on any given day. For example, a justice facility dog,” Barber said. “The most impactful thing that we hear from our clients, and people they go out to, is they describe it as magic. From where I stand and what I see, it really is quite magical. There’s a ton of hard work that goes into that magic, but the impact is astounding. It’s amazing.”
National Service Dogs at St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market on May 9, 2024. (Shelby Knox/CTV Kitchener)
Only service dogs are allowed at the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market. Due to public health regulations, owners are asked to keep all other pups at home.
Volunteers needed
National Service Dogs is also looking for more volunteers to fill a variety of roles, including puppy raisers.
Volunteers would be asked to welcome a dog into their home. They would then raise it and train it for a future helping others.
National Service Dogs and volunteers at St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market on May 9, 2024. (Shelby Knox/CTV Kitchener)
“We love raisers, we love volunteers – they are the most wonderful people in the whole wide world,” Barber said. “They give so much of themselves. We couldn’t do any of the work that we do without the volunteers giving so much to us. From the staff, from the clients that they support – our raisers are amazing, if you want to join the raiser community or the volunteer community with NSD, please connect with us. We would love to have you.”
More information is available on the NSD website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada to launch 'national action plan' to fight auto theft
The federal government is launching what it calls its 'national action plan' to combat auto thefts, which will include stronger penalties for thieves, and increased information sharing between police agencies, government officials and border enforcement.
U.S. Supreme Court rejects appeal from former Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by a Canadian-born former Guantanamo detainee who was seeking to wipe away his war crimes convictions, including for killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.
Iran's president and foreign minister die in helicopter crash at moment of high tensions in Mideast
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country's foreign minister were found dead Monday hours after their helicopter crashed in fog, leaving the Islamic Republic without two key leaders as extraordinary tensions grip the wider Middle East.
Jury finds Andrei Donet guilty of second-degree murder in stabbing death of Montreal teen
A jury has found a 21-year-old man guilty of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Montreal teenager Jannai Dopwell-Bailey outside his school in 2021.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
The world's best airline is paying staff a bonus of 8 months' salary
Singapore Airlines will reward its employees with a bonus worth nearly eight months of salary, a person familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday.
Woman, 35, in critical condition after her truck collided with a Via Rail train near Montreal
A 35-year-old woman is in critical condition after the pick-up truck she was driving was struck by a Via Rail passenger train Monday morning in Quebec's Monteregie region.
Investors watching posts from 'Crytpo King' in the wake of fraud, money laundering charges
Former investors of the self-styled “Crypto King” say they are watching his social media accounts and worried his displays of wealth are signs he’s spending their money, even now, as another large expense tied to Aiden Pleterski has triggered a previously unreported lawsuit.
Britain slammed in inquiry for infecting thousands with tainted blood and covering up the scandal
British authorities and the country's public health service knowingly exposed tens of thousands of patients to deadly infections through contaminated blood and blood products, and hid the truth about the disaster for decades, an inquiry into the U.K.'s infected blood scandal found Monday.