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Jenny has been volunteering at Assistance Dogs of the West as a Teaching Asssistant, for nearly two years now. It's been a great experience for her, building her self-confidence, teaching her patience and discipline, and giving her a sense of accomplishment as she sees the dogs she trains, and the students she teaches learn and grow.
The following was written by Jenny herself:
Assistance Dogs of the West is a non-profit organization devoted to providing well-trained service dogs to people with physical and mental disabilities. The challenges these clients experience include but are not limited to: diabetes, seizure disorders, autism and mobility issues. Each dog spends approximately two years in training, during that time they work with 8 though 18 year olds called student trainers in in-school and after-school classes. Student trainers are taught to follow the Assistance Dogs of the West (ADW) training methods while they reinforce basic commands and form bonds with their dog. This is the position I started in.
In September 2009 I began taking the one of the ADW after-school classes. I’d found the program though a magazine ad and thought it looked interesting. On the first day I was stunned at the sheer number of commands to learn and the devotion it took to achieve even one successful task: still, I loved it. The next week one of the instructors introduced me to a shy yellow lab named Lily and there was no question: this was my dog. It took several weeks before she grew to trust me but after that we made a good team. By the time Lily was placed as a seizure alert dog she had taught me many very important things about service dog training and life. The most valuable thing Lily taught me was to seize the moment and not to spend my time worrying about when to do something.
Shortly after Lily graduated I was offered the position of Teacher’s Assistant (TA). My job during the summer classes was now doubly important; I had to work with the dogs and teach new students how to train them. I started going two days a week as well as attending fundraisers and, once invited, participating in the ADW Youth Board. During this time I found a new dog: Beatrice, a Great Dane and Labrador mix. I had worked with her intermittently while I was finishing Lily’s training, but after Lily was placed I took Beatrice up as my “full time” dog. I still train Beatrice to this day, and every time I pick up her leash my dog teaches me something new, something useful, something amazing.
Assistance Dogs of the West has provided me as well as hundreds of other children and adults with true friends and priceless gifts. I’m proud to be part of such an extraordinary organization and to be able to share what I’ve learned and taught with others.
County: San Miguel New Mexico, USA School: Homeschool |