paw prints may 2016

8/17/2019 Paw Prints May 2016

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PAW PRINTSSt. John Ambulance

Therapy Dogs

May 2016

219 Church St. St. Catharines, Ontario L2R 3E8

Website: www.sja-niagara.org Phone #: 905-685-8964

Thought for the month

If your dog wasn’t around you

would end up losing dozens of balls every day.

Finnegan has his eye on a special ladies.

In January of 2015 Finnegan began his volunteer work at LinhavenNursing Home in St. Catharines. It was slow going at first andFinnegan seemed unsure as to what his role as a SJA therapy dog

was all about. Almost every resident we visit, is in a wheel chair ora bed. Because Finnegan is only 13 pounds he makes a perfect lapdog. Within a few months he seemed to know who was behindeach of the closed doors that we visited. He knew where they satand whether he should be looking for them in their beds. In April of2015 I took Finnegan for a walk in our neighborhood and while wewere walking a neighbor from around the corner, who had recentlyhad a stroke was coming down his driveway in his new scooter.Finnegan began to pull his leash in the direction of that neighbor. Ittook me a moment to realize that Finnegan was trying to greet him.So within just a few months my little Shih Tzu had actually turned intoa therapy dog!

Finnegan cannot wait to get out the door any time he sees my redshirt go on. He always knows when we are in the Linhaven parkinglot. Its so much fun to arrive and have staff and residents yell, “herecomes Finnegan ”. I brought in photographs of Finnegan for someof the residents. I was really amazed at how excited they were tohave a picture of Finnegan to display, right along with pictures oftheir grandchildren! One resident who is blind asked if she couldpost his photo on her wall, so that her visitors knew that Finnegan

FINNEGAN

Upcoming Events

June 4

Gillian’s Place Walk to stopviolence against women.

Walk for Autism

June 5

Awards Ceremony

June 15

Canine Comfort RoomHoly Cross 11-11:40 12:15-1

June

Flag Raisings – week of June 20th

July

SLAM – Summer Reading program

July 23

Niagara Dog Fest

August 13

Dog Days of Summer

August 14

Peach Festival

Deadline for next

newsletter – May 26

http://www.sja-niagara.org/http://www.sja-niagara.org/http://www.sja-niagara.org/http://www.sja-niagara.org/


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was also one of her regular visitors. Finnegan loves to kiss. I warn everyone he meets that he will kissthem on their face and if they have objections I make sure he doesn't get too close. There are somany residents who love the affection. I've witnessed many eighty to ninety year old ladies gigglelike little girls in response to his kisses. One lady laughed so hard that some of the staff came in to seewhat was going on. Soon we were all laughing. Some of them have stuffed toys just for him to playwith while he visits. One of the residents always asks if I can leave him so that she can look after himfor a few hours. Many of them would love to have a little dog to keep in their rooms.

I love to hear residents share their stories about the pets that they used to have. Bringing in ourtherapy dogs helps them to remember the stories of their lives. One of the nurses told me a fewweeks ago that on Mondays many of the residents know it is a “Finnegan Day! ” They start their daywith excitement and the anticipation of his visit. Every Monday I have so many residents and staffthanking me for our visit. I am so proud to volunteer with Finnegan at Linhaven, it is a wonderfulhome, and I am always so impressed with the quality of care given by the staff. Finnegan and I feellike it is our home too and everyone there is like family!

(Photos taken with Finnegan: Kristin, the Coordinator of Volunteers for Linhaven and with residentsVivian and Mary)


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New Members – Evaluations are complete

On Sunday April 17 th 17 teams were evaluated to become part of the St. John Ambulance TherapyDogs. We are pleased to announce the names of the successful candidates. These men andwomen will be going onto Mentor with one of our members shortly. We look forward to see them allcome out to our many SJATD events. Congratulations to…. Kerri with Mickey, Jourdan with Mabel, Adam with Sulley, Audrey with Finn, Heather with Sadie,Nancy with Abby & Cleo, Darlene with Shamus, Sandra with Cisco, Dawn with Fiona

New Paws Team MembersCongratulations to the following handlers and their dogs for pawsativily testing and passing their childtests evaluation. We look forward to having these new members begin working with the childrenonce you have completed your minimum hours and have been mentored in the child program.Rosemary with Morgan, Sara with Reggie, John with Dorey, Pam with Ace, Brad with Tucker, Pam withDigj, Brenda with Desi, Heather with Whiskey and Barb with Tigger.


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Cover to Cover – on the move to find the story.In the last edition of the Paw Prints many of our wonderful dogs were featured. Some in the form ofarticles and some captured in photos. A copy of the newsletter was left at one seniors home for theresidents to read and enjoy. After about a week or so with it being circulated around the home, on

my next visit I saw sections of the paper posted throughout the halls on bulletin boards. When askedwhat was going on I was told that since there was only 1 copy in circulation and many residents werehaving to wait too long to get a chance to read it, the story was posted throughout the complex.This forced the residents to go out walking to find the next story. Great exercise and a great what toshowcase our dogs. The next visit later that same week one resident said that ‘it was great that somany of our dogs were out in the community giving to others the young and the young at heart.G od Bless them and their human friends.’ Now that was rewarding for me – but my four leggedcompanion got a dog cookie too.

Newsletter comments: The new format with lots of information and pictures in the newsletter PawPrints has been well received. Lots of awesome, good job, enjoyed it, very good…. Hi Lori,I thoroughly enjoyed the “Paw Prints” and extend congratulations to you and your team for anexcellent job!I just wish I had the energy and enthusiasm that you have – you rock!!Warm regards,Peter.

Don’t forget your hours are due into the office by June 30 th . Please send them to your

area team leader by the due date. Don’t make them chase you be on time in getting them in.


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School is out!

This edition finds us for the most part out of job for the summer. The Schools are closed to giveteachers and students a much needed break. We are hoping that our friends will continue topractice their reading skills over the summer and we are looking forward to returning to the Paws 4Stories Program in the St. Catharines schools come the fall. Don’t be surprised if you see some of ourdogs moonlighting in the summer reading program SLAM or Library community programs.

Ridley College open their doors to our Therapy Dogs.

The Students in the Middle school of Ridley College spent some quality time with several of ourhandler dog teams during their Beat the Stress week know as Wellness Week. Prior to exams studentshad an opportunity to come into the Ross Morrow Theatre and cuddle with 11 of our Paws Tested SJATherapy Dogs.During our 1 afternoon visit and 1 evening visit we saw over 150 students. Thanks to the followingteam members that helped make this happen. Al & Bosco, Angela & Derby, Dawn & Regan,Deanna & Jamie, Dianne & Mickey, Linda & Raya, Lori & Mecho, Mary & Magee, Peter & Rupert, Sue& Finnegan, and Susan & Bronson


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Sparks Jump Up…not just a name of their opening song,but also what they did when they saw our Therapy Dogs.

Once again we were invited to attend a Girl Guide Spark Unit. With fun packed into our bags Sue &Finnegan, Deanna & Jamie, Mary & Magee, Lori & Mecho, Dianne & Mickey, and Linda & Rayaanswered the call. The room was decorated with lots of posters and we had many giveaways for thegirls.The 17, 5 and 6 year old girls listened and learned about each one of our dogs and how to safelymeet a dog with hands on practice of course. Then the fun began with a craft, 2 games with TeamFinnegan winning the first one and combined Teams Jamie & Mickey the 2 nd one. Of course thedoggies had to “strut their stuff” showing off obedience and several tricks. Finishing with Mickey’sagility course. While they were enjoying “Dog Biscuits” made my Mary the girls received informationabout our ‘How to Not get Bit by a Dog’, a bookmark and stickers of our K9 friends. The evening was a success for the girls and our handler teams enjoyed themselves as well. We reallydid promote the Girl Guide Spark Promise to share and be a friend. We shared our dogs and nowthey are friends. Thanks team another job well done!

From the 35 th St. Catharines Sparks Leader – Joy

Invasion of the Dogs!!

Just before the girls started arriving, 6 dogs and their handler’s wandered in the gym. Excitement!!The girls learned how to greet a dog first, 18 girls went around to different dogs to do this. The dogseach showed their abilities or tricks. Mecho and Jamie let the girls lay on their backs. The girlscoloured and made an origami dog head. They didn’t really want to go home. A really successfulday. Spark Leader Joy


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YMCA – Fun for the Whole Family

On Sunday May 1 st your SJA Therapy Dogs split up into 2 groups to cover 2 separate locations in 2different cities in our Region. Denis was the team lead at the YMCA in Grimsby and Lori was theteam lead in Welland. The event was YMCA Healthy Kids Day. Our teams set up a display andseveral of our Paws 4 Stories dogs were available to be read to during the day. This was all part anational day dedicated to improving the health and well-being of kids. The event was free toeveryone in the community who wanted to attend. A chance to be silly for a few hours.


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BMO Walk so Kids can Talk

Even though it was a drizzly morning on May 1 st, that didn’t stop our Therapy Dogs from participatingin the Walk so Kids can Talk Event.


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Did you know….. As the warm weather approaches, so do fleas and ticks. While fleas become more of a problem in late summer into fall, ticks can be found on any daythat the temperature is above 4 degrees Celsius.These little pests do not jump or fly, but they sit on blades of grass and wait for you or your dog towalk by, at which point they grab onto you.Many of them also come to our area on migrating birds, so yes, they can also fall from flying birdsand land on you!

These little guys are sneaky and will bite you without you even realizing it and stay attached for afew hours to a few days to obtain a blood meal.While this is an unpleasant thought, there is usually no pain involved.More of a concern are the diseases that ticks can carry, and pass to people and dogs… Lymedisease being a major one in our area.Luckily most of the ticks in the Niagara Region are Brown Dog ticks, which do not carry Lymedisease. However the Black-Legged Deer Tick is known to carry Lyme disease and is of concern ifyou find one on you or your family pet.In order to avoid ticks, be smart. Try to avoid areas with tall grass, check yourself and your dogfor ticks after being outdoors, and speak to your veterinarian about a safe tick product to use onyour dog. Not only are topical products available, but now there are several oral products thathave recently been released in Canada that are safe and effective to prevent ticks from stayingon your dog.If you do find a tick that has 'latched on', they can look just like a dark skin tag. Use a 'tickremover' to safely remove them. It is important NOT to kill the tick prior to removal, as they tendto regurgitate their stomach contents into their victim when they die or are stressed, which is howthey pass Lyme Disease. Applying dish soap to kill them, or burning them, for example, prior toremoval is not recommended. Instead, grasp them just below their mouth part near the skin,with tweezers or a tick remover and gently pull straight out. The goal is to remove the entire tickalive. Do not squeeze them.Save any ticks that you find, dead or alive. Your family doctor or veterinarian can help guideyou to your local Ministry of Health Office that offers free tick identification in your area. Any ticksthat are Deer Ticks will be identified and then will be tested to ensure they are not carrying Lyme

disease, which would be of concern if it had bitten you or your dog.

Enjoy the warm weathers outdoors, but try to avoid the bugs!!!


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Luc and Joan have been me mbers since Sept. 2011. Their fury friend affectionately known as “MissDaisy” is a very special Goldendoodle who loves to be with people. Joan and Luc spend their timedriving “Miss Daisy” on her appointed rounds. Patients at Linhaven and Hospice look forward toseeing her with mom and dad each week. Daisy never refuses to be hugged or petted and when apatient dies it is very hard for her, because having been with them for so long she automatically goesinto their room where they once were. Thanks Joan and Luc for sharing Daisy with the seniors in these

2 facilities.


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Meet Dianne! Dianne has 2 Chihuahua dogs. Tequila and Mickey is a Chihuahua mix. Dianne hasrecently retired and has now able to spend more time volunteering in the SJATD program. Dianne isthe mentoring coordinator for our Niagara Region. Weekly she takes 1 of her 2 dogs to St. CatharinesPlace where she visits with seniors in the home. Dianne also volunteers at 2 schools – in the fall it willbe 3 in the Paws 4 Stories program. She is the one we should thank for the easy spread sheet logform. It makes it easy for you to record your visits and great for Stephanie to have to add up all the

hours. Dianne is very active and can be seen at most events, and special activities. Her small dogsare always a welcome treat for those who are nervous of dogs to begin with. Thanks for volunteeringyour time and sharing your dogs with us and the community since Aug. 2012.

Meet Al, Bosco’s driver. Al joined the program in February 2013. Since then this team has been unstoppable.Al loves spending time with Bosco and Al’s wife Sharon makes sure Bosco is booked for as many SJAactivities as possible. Sometimes this has Al running from one event to the next with little time for a meal in

between. Luckily someone has cookies waiting for him to hold off the hunger pains. Al visits Chateau Gardensnursing home, as well as 5 schools at the present. The team will be adding another one in the fall. Bosco is alsoin big demand for the Readin g Rocks and Slam program. Al really doesn’t have much time to rest with Bosco’s

busy schedule. Al with his big bear hugs and Bosco with his very wet kisses are always welcome where everthey go. You can see they are always on the go.


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April’s On the Road with Wendy Saying Thanks to Revera’s LTC Volunteers

Dear Colleagues:Last week Revera celebrated National Volunteer Week. I had the chance to visit two of our homes in

southern Ontario and take part in their events to pay tribute to the people who selflessly give theirtime and talent by helping out in our LTC homes.On April 15, I visited Kilean Lodge in Grimsby, Ontario. That’s where I met Mary Pendakis and her pettherapy dog, Duncan. Mary and Duncan have been visiting residents and staff at Kilean Lodge forthe past five years. Duncan, a highly intelligent black Labrador retriever, is able to connect with theresidents in a way you need to see to believe. Recently, Mary and Duncan were recognized for theirvolunteer efforts at Kilean Lodge with a Circle of Excellence Award from the OLTCA. (Mary andDuncan are pictured with their certificate in the top left photo.)Since I was already traveling through the picturesque Niagara wine country region, I also poppedinto Garden City long term care in St. Catharines, Ontario where they were hosting their volunteerappreciation event. While there, I had the pleasure of meeting several more Revera volunteers whospend their time helping out during a meal service, offering companionship to residents, teaching artclasses, and genuinely making our long term care centres feel more like home.In our division, there are more than 3,000 volunteers just like the ones captured in the images for thismonth’s photo blog. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all of our volunteers who lend an extrapair o f hands precisely when we need them…and we often do! I hope the letter, certificate, andposters we shared earlier this month helped you to celebrate the countless contributions ourvolunteers make to our homes and to the lives of the residents we serve.Kind regards, Wendy

Calendar Time

Change over your calendar. Say goodbye to ‘Miss April’ - Magee and hello to ‘Mr. May’ - Bosco. Don’t

have a calendar of our great SJATD – contact Denis or the office I am sure we can fix you up with one


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Brock University Puppy Room - From Snap’d May Edition The dog and handler teams of St. John Ambulance showed up at Brock University to provide stressrelief to staff and students during their Wellness Week with the help of Brock's Student WellnessServices. When visitors come to the Puppy Room, they leave their worries at the door. They cuddleand relax with well-behaved, trained dogs who offer lots of unconditional love and comfort. Therapydogs are different than service dogs - they are volunteer dogs as opposed to working dogs. Thecampus has seen well over 2,000 students during this time. Some people come with friends that arescared of dogs, but no matter the reason, the special dogs know what to do. With guidance from thehandlers, many of the students come around and enjoy their time in the puppy room.

photos by Anna da Silva


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Car Magnets Large Size 11.48” x 17.58” Car Magnets Small Size 8.73” x 11.48” Cost for 2 of the same magnets $30.00 Cost for 2 of the same magnets $20

If you are interested in getting a set of these magnets for your car, you must be active in the programand current on all documentation in order to place an order. Requests must be sent to Lori with apicture of your dog and the correct spelling of his/her name . All money will be due to the office byAugust 8th . Orders will be placed shortly after that and will arrive at the end of the summer or the firstpart of Sept.

Don’t miss the opportunity to share your special friend with the rest of the SJATD teams.Send stories and pictures to Lori for the next issue of the newseltter.

Deadline is May 26 to make the June issue of Paw Prints!

Do you know who these handlers are? Any idea who is trying his paws at the piano?Will your picture be here next month?


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Leadership Team

Name Position EmailSuzi Peters Coordinator Therapy Dogs [email protected] Dyck Coordinator/Administration/Evaluator [email protected] Dallaire Events Coordinator [email protected] Powell Evaluator/Niagara Area Team

[email protected]

Lori Thwaites Paws 4 Stories St. CatharinesSchools/Puppy Room Coordinator

[email protected]

Dianne Howie Mentoring [email protected] Haner Facilites 0Coordinator/ West Lincoln

Team [email protected]

Angela Verde Paws Program Coordinator/Canine Comfort Unit

[email protected]

James Clark South Niagara Team Leader [email protected] Peters New Members/Secretary [email protected]

Lauren is resigning from SJATD

4 years ago, Lauryn Carrick knew she wanted to do something to get more involved with thecommunity. Through friends, she heard about the SJA therapy dog program and felt it was theperfect opportunity for her and her fur-baby, Izzy, a 4 year old Maltese with lots of love toshare!

Lauryn and Izzy got certified with SJA and started visiting at The Orchards in Vineland. It was awonderful experience and they made many great memories with the residents. Lauryn alsovolunteered to be a part of the Leadership team and was the South Niagara teamleader. She enjoyed getting to know everyone and being part of the program.

Now Lauryn and Izzy are retiring from the program. Lauryn is a proud mom to a two year oldson, Nolan, and a new baby girl, Chloé, and wants to spend as much time with them aspossible. She hopes when her kids are older to get back involved with the program!


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It takes a lot of “Paws” to put a story together. Here is a brain test.How many times where Child Tested Dogs – “Paws Dogs” neededthis month. We still have more demand. More dogs are needed. Ifyou are interested in testing the next session please contact Mary toget your name on the list . [email protected]

E.I. McCulley School Volunteer Teams on the last day.

If you would like to share your story with our Areas’s Newsletter “PawPrints” please send information to [email protected] Put Newsletter in the subject line.

Next Months deadline: May 26.

So get out those cameras and start snapping pictures and send theminto Paw Prints!

Watch for us In theCommunity

Fall -

Reading Rock for Paws

tested dogs. Oct. 7

Food Drive - Superstore

Nov. 1

All Members meeting

Nov.

Brock Puppy Room

Nov. Dec.

Santa Claus Parades

Nov. Dec.

Calendar Sales

Nov. 27 & Dec. 4

Photos with Santa

Dec. 5 SJA Christmas Party
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

paw prints may 2016

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