Service dogs in-training take field trip to St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market

A national service dog at St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market on May 9, 2024. (Shelby Knox/CTV Kitchener)

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.