Project Phineas $7,500 in 75 days

Phineas Solomon “Finn” arrived as a 7-week old pup in mid-December, 2013, in the arms of a volunteer from USAirways Puppies in Flight Program. Companions, Inc Fairbanks donated the cost to purchase Finn, an English cream golden retriever from a litter by Cindy Abels, reproduction specialist at Power Paws Assistance Dogs in Peoria, Arizona. Finn has been training as an assistance dog with The Other Paw Assistance Dogs (TOPAD) in Fairbanks since he arrived and

has since learned over 60 different commands to prepare him for work as a mobility service dog with someone with mobility challenges, PTSD, autism, or other physical, developmental, or psychological disorders. This fall, TOPAD is launching its

fundraising campaign, “Project Phineas”, to raise the cost of raising, training, and placing Finn locally as a service dog for someone with a disability at no cost.

The national average cost of a trained service dog is between $20,000 and $65,000. TOPAD estimates the cost at $7,500 and keeps these costs down by working with local volunteers and clients. As a local organization, TOPAD’s clients get the opportunity to work with the service dogs-in-training from puppyhood, forming the bond that is key to the success of a service dog/handler team. TOPAD is raising $7,500.00 during Project Phineas, to raise, train, and place Phineas the service dog with someone locally at no cost. For more information or to support Project Phineas, please visit www.theotherpaw.org or mail a tax-exempt donation to: ACCA for The Other

Paw PO Box 60424 Fairbanks, AK 99706. Visit TOPAD on its Facebook page to keep up to date on events and presentations in the community.

Hannah helps socialize Phineas at 8 weeks.

Dan works with Phineas at 4 months.

Issue 1: Spring 2014

The Rawhide chew on this…

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Companions, Inc Companions, Inc is a local nonprofit organization that involves people volunteering with their personal pets to provide animal-assisted therapy and animal-assisted activities to local agencies and facilities including: Fairbanks Memorial Hospital Behavioral Health Unit, Denali Center, Fairbanks North Star Senior Center, Pioneers Home, and several other sites. Companions, Inc is one of TOPAD’s key community partners and the organization generously donated the cost of purchasing Phineas, TOPAD’s first service pup-in-training to be placed with someone locally.

Two of TOPAD’s assistance dogs are members of Companions, Inc . Yukon (left) has been a member for over 10 years, and Eric (right) has been a member since September, 2013. Eric and Yukon visit Pioneers Home, Fairbanks North Star Senior Center, Denali Center, and the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital Behavioral Health Center. Eric and Yukon enjoy these visits each week and bring joy to

people in Fairbanks. Visit www.companionsinc.org or call 457-4312 for more information.

In January, The Other Paw Assistance Dogs (TOPAD) launched the first session of the Wag ‘n Train & Teen Flyer Programs involving local children/teens in training assistance dogs that will be placed with someone with a disability in the Fairbanks area. Nine wonderful volunteers helped with the program in which five children/teens from Fairbanks and surrounding areas were paired with a TOPAD assistance dog-in-training and a volunteer coach, meeting once weekly for six weeks. Mark Pauley, dog trainer with Golden Retriever Rescue Fairbanks & Pawsitive Dog Training facilitates the classes with co-founder, Nathan Collin, service dog trainer, and co-

founder Betsey Jacobs, speech-language pathologist. The participants not only benefit from the bonds they form with the dogs, but also learn principles of service dog training, how to teach specific commands, and the roles a service dog plays in someone’s life. The dogs learn and generalize commands they will need in order to work as assistance dogs in the local community, and the volunteers form new friendships and learn about working with children, teens, and service dogs. Graduation was held in February and all of the students earned a certificate of completion. For more information about this or any of our other programs, please contact us at: info@theotherpaw.org or (907) 888-5157.

TOPAD visits the classroom!

The TOPAD crew has been busy visiting local area classrooms at the request of teachers from the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. In January, The Other Paw Assistance Dogs visited University Park Elementary School for a field trip for the special education department. In March, TOPAD visited three intensive resource (IR) classrooms at Anne Wien Elementary School. The children and teachers loved seeing Phineas turn on and off a light switch and Eric open a cabinet and fetch a bottle of water. TOPAD appreciates the opportunity to work with children in the schools!

Teen Flyer & Wag ‘n Train Programs

it takes a community…

Yukon and Eric

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Our Boy, Eric by Nathan Collin

Before I went to California to attend the Bergin University service dog seminar, Betsey and I joked about my bringing a Bergin dog home. Once in a while if a dog doesn’t work out for some reason or another the public is given an opportunity to submit a form to adopt a Bergin University release dog. This is a great program and the dog you get is very well trained. While I was at the University, we submitted a release form to Bergin University for one of their dogs.

When I first arrived at Bergin, I met a beautiful golden retriever, Eldridge, and later heard that he might be released. I spent a lot of time with his brother Ethan who is a large dog who has fathered many litters at the university. I also got to work with Eldridge. I feel that dogs that are low to mid arousal make the best service dogs. Eldridge was extremely low arousal and a very sweet boy. Once a form is

submitted, it can take a week, a month and maybe even up to a year before a release dog is available.

Bergin tries to match the dog with the person or family that best suits the dog. I handed in the form and let them know I was interested in Eldridge. (Our Boy, Eric cont’d on next page)

Nathan and Ethan Eric and Nathan working with a student trainer.

A Valentine’s Day to Remember: Puppy Kissing Booth at UAF

On Valentine’s Day, 2014, Nerland Hall hosted its first “Puppy Kissing Booth” where 3-month old Phineas, a service dog-in-training, spent three hours being held and snuggled by UAF students. Ruger, another TOPAD assistance dog, manned the “Dog Therapy Corner” and received several

hours of petting and rubbing as well. Socialization is a key part of service dog training and the more each dog is petted and cuddled by different people with different smells, different voices, and different energies, the more trusting the dog becomes. A service dog should be exposed to as many different environments and people as safely possible in the early days and months of its

life. Everyone benefits from programs like these: students get a break from work and some “doggie time” and the dogs are socialized. TOPAD UAF raised over $100.00 at this awesome and unique event. Please stay tuned for future TOPAD events at UAF. Thank you, Nerland Hall, for the opportunity to participate in this event!

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Support Project Phineas…

To make an online donation, visit www.theotherpaw.org

or mail check to: The Other Paw Assistance Dogs

PO Box 60424 Fairbanks, AK 99706

Make dreams come true…

the paws-abilities are endless… It Takes a Community…

“Bringing people together with dogs is what we are all about,” remarks Betsey Jacobs, co-founder and program co-director of The Other Paw Assistance Dogs (TOPAD). She continues, “ at TOPAD, we believe that it takes a community to raise and train service dogs”. Jacobs has over 20 years’ experience working with her own therapy dogs with Companions, Inc Fairbanks, at ACCA, and in her speech-language clinic. TOPAD’s Teen Flyer/Wag ‘n Train Program involves children, teens, and adults with disabilities in training TOPAD’s assistance dogs-in-training. The Warriors Working Together Program involves US veterans in training the assistance dogs. TOPAD provides animal-assisted therapy (AAT) and animal-assisted activities (AAA) throughout the community in places like schools, children’s events, and youth facilities. "Like a lot of people, I didn't know what to expect as a volunteer 'coach' who certainly wasn't an expert on dog training! It turned out that the greatest goal was to help the student have fun and go away confident. The expert dog people were awesome with their pointers, patience and support and I went away every Sunday feeling even a little happier myself!", recalled Cat Whitney, a TOPAD volunteer for the Wag ‘n Train/Teen Flyer Program.

Our Boy, Eric (cont’d) Betsey had come out to visit and while we were eating lunch one day on campus, Lauren, the woman who runs their puppy program and places release dogs approached us. She said she knew we liked Eldridge but felt that Eldridge was too low arousal and that his brother Eric was a better fit with The Other Paw Assistance Dogs, Betsey’s work as a speech pathologist, and our work with therapy dogs. Lauren felt that Eric would be a better fit for us since he is a lot more active and would make a wonderful therapy dog visiting different facilities.

I had seen Eric but had not worked with him before. After we spent a weekend with Eric, we were sure we wanted to adopt him. So Betsey and I and Eric took off from the University and headed south to Half Moon Bay. We took him to the beach and shopping and out to dinner in a fancy restaurant. He did wonderful in all circumstances. Eric immediately fell in love with Betsey and she with him. Watching the two of them running together on the beach was a joy. I saw how happy he made Betsey and I knew that once I was finished at Bergin, I would be leaving California with our new boy Eric.

Tune in next time, Eric arrives in Fairbanks, Alaska and begins quite the adventure…