4 Paws for Amelia

One last batch of training photos

2009-12-12T12:09:00.007-05:00

"I can see you looking at our blog!"

Bobo, preparing for his Final Exam

"Put me in, Coach!"

Amelia and Bobo, waiting for graduation

The World Renowned
4 Paws for Ability
Training Staff

Cake!

This is as good as it gets
when it comes to a
Freeman Family Portrait:

Training Day 10 & Graduation

2009-12-11T23:48:00.004-05:00

I am exausted in every conceivable way.

On Day 10, we decided to opt out of tracking. With wind chills in the single digits, we rationalized that Amelia wouldn't take a single step outside on a day that cold, much less wander off. But really we were just wiped. Battling illness, fatigue, sleep depravation, and an awful diet for 10 straight days was really taking its toll. And Bobo was 12 for 12 in tracking, both indoors and out. (In fact, to my knowledge, every single tracking exercise for every single dog was successful.)

We worked on some more advanced techniques, like heeling without any leash, or getting the dog to sit or go down from a heel while you continue walking. In the afternoon we covered topics like traveling with your dog (airport security, bulkhead seating, doggy seat belts, etc.), introducing your dog to your home and other pets, bringing your dog to school, and other topics, along with a general Q&A.

Today was Test Day, which we did at the mall. In addition to observing general obedience tasks, they watched him deal with a variety of circumstances: having the dog sit while a shopping cart was pushed past. They dropped a metal bowl 10 feet behind him to see how he'd react. They had him go under the table and dropped a hot dog on the floor in front of him, they watched him interact with kids, they had someone step over him, they had someone hold the leash while I stepped out of view, they had me drop the leash on the floor, and they watched him load into the car safely (and probably several more that I'm not remembering). Bobo did great. He wasn't perfect, but perfection was not required.

From there it was back to 4 Paws to wait our turn to fill out paperwork, eat cake, take pictures, graduate, and go home.

I'll get one last batch of pictures up tomorrow. We're happily home and ready for some well earned rest. Tonight I need to sleep...

Well done, Bobo. And everyone at 4 Paws for Ability too!

--

Training - Days 8 & 9

2009-12-09T22:51:00.001-05:00

Lori & Owen are feeling much better, and nobody else in our family has come down with the bug so far, so that's good. We were worried about missing training time.

Yesterday morning was tracking again, and Bobo has definitely made the transition to tracking Amelia. For two days in a row, Amelia went out to hide with somebody else in the group (Tink on Monday and Mary on Tuesday) and both times Bobo still tracked her perfectly. And this morning he tracked her through rain and really strong winds without any trouble as well. Rain, snow, sleet, sunshine, it doesn't matter - he knows what he's doing and he's good at it.

Yesterday afternoon was spent talking about veterinary care while the dogs got to practice their "place" command. Place tells the dog to go to his designated mat (his "place") and stay there. They refer to it as "a crate without walls". The dog can get up, move around, sit, stand, chew on a toy, or whatever, as long as he keeps at least two paws on the mat at all times. And it's one of the few "distance" commands, where you can be in one place and the dog in another, and you tell him "place" and he goes to his place. This can be useful if you have visitors, in a school setting, or if you just need to make sure the dog is not in the way of some activity. He can have multiple mats (say upstairs & downstairs), but the mats should generally stay put.

We also went over the behavior disruption commands some more (nuzzle, lap, over, and kisses) and learned about how different families might want to use them. We're still working on figuring out how to incorporate these with Amelia effectively, and this will probably take some time. For one thing, they'll probably be more effective if/when Amelia starts to really show an interest in the dog. And that may take some time for her.

We learned a bit about how to adapt the various commands to our needs, or even invent new commands to some extent, as well as general tips for keeping the dogs on task, how and when to praise or correct, and lots of little nuances.

This afternoon it was back to the mall for more obedience practice and more indoor tracking. If you ask people who work with tracking dogs, they'll probably tell you that indoor tracking, such as in a store or a mall is just not possible. There are too many people, and the scents don't stick around very long on hard floors and surfaces - especially when you throw in the typical indoor ventilation systems that are drawing the scent up into a vent and redistributing it all over the store.

There are two reasons our dogs can do it though. The first is that they are at the search location immediately. No police officers have to be called, no dogs need to be transported. The dog is already exactly where it needs to be. And if it's just been a few minutes since the child wandered off, the skin cells won't even have settled out of the air yet. Instead of sniffing the ground, the dog will use air scenting. The skin cells will form a sort of "tunnel" of scent for the dog to track through.

The second reason is that our dogs have the children's smell memorized. They can ignore all the other people smells and cross tracks and just zero in on the scent of the person they spend every day with.

So we're in the home stretch now. And speaking of which, I think we're all looking forward to getting home....

--

Training - Days 6 & 7

2009-12-07T20:28:00.005-05:00

Owen and Lori are both under the weather. Owen hasn't been sleeping well and definitely isn't himself. And we're all very tired. It's been hard to get a good night's sleep, seemingly for a different reason each night.

Yesterday we did another outdoor tracking exercise, and two department store tracks as well. Indoor tracking is a completely different animal from outside, for both technical and practical reasons. The dogs use "air scenting" only inside, rather than sniffing the ground. And obviously weaving through clothing racks with a dog in a crowded department store in December is not easy. Bobo scared the stuffing out of some poor lady in JC Penney's during one of the tracks.

We also got to try the "gentle leader" on Bobo, which is sort of like a halter on a horse. Bobo hates it, and looks very pathetic while wearing it (not to mention trying to rub and/or scratch it off), but he performed WAY better on heeling in the mall with it on. The difference was amazing. He has a tendency to want to be out in front, and would eventually end up out at the end of the leash if you'd let him. But with the gentle leader, he heels much better.

I took Edson home last night so he could get back to school today.

This morning we did another outdoor track (complete with snow!), though Lori & Owen went to an Urgent Care place while Amelia and I got help with the tracking from another family. (Thanks Tink!) Amelia didn't appreciate walkning off with a stranger to sit behind a tree on a cold snowy morning, but Bobo tracked her down as quick as he could. Bobo got his hot dogs and then Amelia went for some french fries. Owen just has a virus (as does Lori, most likely), with no sign of ear infection or anything. But he's pretty miserable, pathetic, and cranky.

This afternoon we worked on behavior disruption (including "touch," "nuzzle," "lap," "over," and "kiss") and a few tricks ("gimmie five," "high five," and "shake.") with more to come tomorrow.

That's all the typing I've got in me tonight. Lori's already in bed, and as soon as the kids let me, I'll be there too.

Just a couple photos from yesterday...

Amelia, waiting to be found

Bobo, finding his girl
--

Training Day 5

2009-12-05T21:19:00.005-05:00

We're through our fifth day - halfway done. There are no days off in service dog training, so we're working straight through the weekend. Tracking again today, only this time I got to hold the leash instead of the head trainer, and no trainers went with Lori and Amelia (and Owen) to the hiding place.

(Without going into too much detail, unlike some search & rescue dogs, our dogs are trained to track people they know. They know the 4 Paws staff and that's who they're trained to track initially. They'll go with our kids the first couple times we track, so the dogs can make the transition from tracking them to tracking our kids.)

Bobo's a great tracker. All the dogs are really. Other than the sprinting and the cold, tracking is one of the easiest things the dogs have to do.

We spent the afternoon discussing different tracking scenarios and challenges, and asking Jeremy a lot of questions. We also did a little tethering work, though without the kids attached yet. Just getting the dogs to practice with someone pulling on their tether. And we worked on a few other techniques, like getting the dogs to sit, lie down, or come to the heel position regardless of where we are in relation to the dogs (i.e. in front, behind, beside, a few feet away, etc.)

Tonight we took Bobo to Petsmart today for some practice. That was at least as tough as the mall for him, but in slightly different ways.

Tomorrow, more tracking - this time inside the mall!

Here are some photos from Days 4 & 5...

Bobo, ready for tracking

Owen, smiling at somebody
Bobo, watching people at the mall

Bobo, sleeping with Amelia
(that's her in the yellow, buried in pillows)

Amelia, Bobo, and Owen in the car
(Edson was back home for school)

Some dogs practicing "down" with various distractions
(That's Bobo in the foreground)
Bobo looking almost "official"
with his new red harness on

Training - Days 3 & 4

2009-12-04T22:49:00.003-05:00

Now we're really getting into the thick of training. Let me see if I can catch up on 2 days worth of stuff. (No pictures this time...)

Thursday morning was our first search & rescue day. We were at the Greene County Fairgrounds, in a big open field. It was an overcast, cold, windy, damp morning.

The dogs were all visibly excited, because they knew it was tracking day. This was a tracking practice site, their Flexi leashes were out, their tracking collars were on, and they were more than ready. The 4 Paws crew works hard to really motivate these dogs for tracking, so they feel like this is the most fun, most exciting thing they could ever do.

Bobo tracked like a star and found Amelia in no time. (They're trained to run as fast as they can - or at least, as fast as YOU can...) He got lots of praise and hot dog treats at the end.

We learned a lot about how dogs track. Your body is constantly shedding skin cells. They float off your body and drift to the ground as you walk. If there's a breeze, they'll drift away from where you walk. They even rise from the top of your head as your body heat rises.

Jeremy told us dogs have about 25 times more olfactory receptors than humans - 125 million compared to just 5 million for us. A pure bloodhound can have as many as 220 million! In fact, dogs use smell as their primary sense, rather than vision like us. Their sense of smell is so keen that if they're following a trail backwards, they can tell within 10-15 yards. The scent is getting older instead of fresher. And they can track a child in a stroller or being carried. They can track in virtually any weather, and even if the trail is a couple days old. Fascinating stuff.

But what's interesting is that because of how it works, the dogs generally don't follow in the footsteps of the child they're tracking. They're often off to one side, depending on the wind direction. If there's a strong wind, the trail might be 20 or 30 feet away from where the child actually walked. The trail can shift around trees and buildings as the obstacles create eddies in the air currents or slow the wind down.

Bobo's first track went past a chain link fence. You could tell he wanted to get to the other side of the fence to get the strongest scent, and as soon as we got to the end of the fence, he shot over to pick up the strongest part of the trail.

For Bobo's second track on Friday morning, he actually went around the opposite side of some clumps of trees and brush from where Amelia walked. The wind carried the trail through & between the brush and around the other side.

We covered a number of other things besides tracking. We worked on distractions, like a bouncing ball or a treat placed right in front of the dog. We worked on "heel" some more, including with a shopping cart. We worked on the "under" command, which tells the dog to go under a table - useful for restaurants.

The thing we're all noticing is that the dogs all perform almost flawlessly for the trainers, but struggle with us. We have to earn their trust & respect, and we have to learn how to effectively reward the right behavior and correct the wrong behavior. And what better place to test that than the local mall?

Now I'm not a fan of malls in any case, and definitely not around the holidays. So bringing a special needs kid, an uncharacteristically cranky toddler, and a practicing service dog in was pretty stressful. We started at the food court: Crowded, full of people, food smells, and even dropped food. Armed with our new "under" command, we ate a quick lunch before doing some practice with "heel" in the crowd. Bobo was pretty distracted, and was struggling a bit. And not just crowds, but elevators, stairs, and bathrooms. Oh, and lots of curious people, a few odd reactions, and plenty of kids who want to pet the pretty doggies.

So Friday was an exhausting day: Tracking in the morning, the mall in the afternoon, and a very grumpy toddler all day. (Daddy at 8:00 this morning: "Hi Owen!" Owen: "NOOO!" ... and it went downhill from there.)

Then if that wasn't enough for one day, after training I dropped Lori off at the Laundromat and I drove back to Circleville with Amelia, Owen, and Bobo so we could pick up Edson who'd been staying at home with Grammy so he wouldn't miss too much school.) The hour drive there wasn't bad, but the drive back to Xenia was, well, nightmarish. Owen screamed and cried almost literally the whole way. Amelia managed to take off her shoes & socks, somehow pulled a Houdini and got unbuckled from her car seat, and took off her pants and her diaper before I could get pulled off the road to fix it. I don't think poor little Edson was very excited to see his siblings tonight.

But we had a very late dinner and a somewhat early bedtime, at least for this crew. Here's hoping Amelia doesn't have any late night shenanigans tonight because it's back to tracking first thing tomorrow morning....

--

Training - Day 2

2009-12-02T20:37:00.004-05:00

Another rough night of sleep for Amelia, and thefore me... and probably Bobo too.... On top of that, Owen might be coming down with something, so it may be a tough couple of weeks. But we're getting by ok so far.

Yesterday, the only command we really worked on was "sit". The idea was more to familiarize us with the mechanics of giving commands in general, and to for us to get used to the dogs and vice versa.

Today started with a long Q&A session. Pretty much everybody had questions after spending our first night with the dogs. The personalities of the dogs are definitely starting to come out too.

After that we moved on to a couple more commands - down, and heel. As someone who has been through obedience training with a dog when I was younger, I have to say that this was like a dream to me. All the hard work is already done. Once you get the dog's attention, they sit when you say sit, they lie down when you say down, and they stay put until they're released. ("Sit" and "down" both come with an implied "stay" with these dogs. You tell them "free" when they're allowed to get up and move around.)

Of course, every dog made mistakes or tested boundaries. Jeremy, the trainer, pointed out that at this point the dogs view us the way a 7th grader views a subsitute teacher. They are only going to obey consistently when we've gained their respect. But at least in our case, Bobo is a very willing worker. Once we get his attention and he realizes it's time to work, he does very well with his commands.

Tomorrow we start on tracking - outside in a cold drizzle, more than likely. That will defintely be our biggest challenge so far. But that's also one of the biggest reasons we're here, so we're looking forward to learning how that works.

A few photos from today...

"Treat? Treat? Treat? Treat?"

Amelia, inadvertently playing the role of
"Distraction" - a role she was born to play.
It's been a hard day's night,
and I've been working like a dog
It's been a hard day's night,
I should be sleeping like a log

Training - Day 1

2009-12-01T18:26:00.006-05:00

We made it through the first exciting day. [If you're impatient, scroll down for photos. :) ]

Bobo came back to our room (suite?) with us and is now resting after all the excitement. I can't say the same for the kids yet, but hopefully it should be a lot earlier than last night.

Amelia (as expected) showed very little interest in Bobo when he was introduced, and quickly wandered off to go back to what she'd been doing. E5 also wasn't entirely impressed, and Owen was asleep. So Lori and I got to bond with Bobo a little bit ourselves.

Amelia avoided stepping on any tails, but she did sample some dog food and drink somebody else's unattended beverage. With 13 families and 13 dogs in one room (and dozens of crated dogs in the next room over), you can start to imagine the level of chaos.

Amelia's been interacting with Bobo in very minor ways already since we got back to the room. She's stolen quite a few glances, touched him a few times, grabbed a handful of fur once, and tried to climb on him once while getting into the bed. That's more than I expected for the first day.

Here are some photos...

"Ooh, can I sleep here??"
Service Dog Central
at the 4 Paws Training Facility

The training area, filled with famlilies (and a few dogs)

"What is all this??"

Jeremy teaching us what we need to know
for the first day with our dogs

Future Service Dog

Owen outside, cruisin'

Edson, playing a silly game
with one of the other kids

"Man, what a day!"

Today's the day!

2009-12-01T08:20:00.004-05:00

Well, we made it. The trip itself wasn't bad - about an hour - but the kids were bouncing off the walls when we got here. Amelia was up past 2am, and not happy with me because I wouldn't let her play in the bathroom or wander the halls all night.

We brought all kinds of food, but we forgot to bring anything to eat it with (or out of). So off to the store at some point today for some bowls, plates, knives, forks, etc.

Because we had no bowl or spoon, Amelia couldn't get her melatonin last night, which probably contributed to her not being able to sleep.

But I suspect we'll forget about all that here in about an hour and a half or so...

--

Counting the hours instead of the days

2009-11-29T20:21:00.003-05:00

Today we said so long to my mom, who's been in town for a visit, and we started preparing in earnest for our long-awaited trip to Xenia. We'll be staying in the AIA Retreat Center, which they tell us is more of a nice dormitory than a hotel. It's about a fifth of the cost of the local hotels, and we'll get multiple rooms. All of the previous training attendees have raved about it, so we're confident it will work well for us. And being able to have Amelia sleep in a separate room is a big plus for us, since she can have trouble going to sleep as well as staying asleep. Being in a strange place doesn't improve matters. We've tried all sleeping in one hotel room, and it's pretty much always a disaster. Keeping one parent up is a lot better than keeping the whole family up.

The only catch is that unlike the Homewood or the Residence Inn, the AIA Center has no real cooking or dining facilities. Now I love to eat out as much as the next guy, but eating out every meal for 10 straight days is a bit much even for me. So we're trying to take along as many meals as we can in various forms. We're taking a 7-day cooler full of ice and as many dinners as we can prepare ahead of time. We're slow cooking some stuff overnight and cooking more tomorrow. Throw in some sandwich rolls, lunch meat, PB&J and some snacks, and hopefully that'll let us keep from blowing out the budget (and our stomachs) on restaurant food.

But tomorrow we've also got to pack, run errands, make arrangements, etc. And I've got to fit in an 8-hour work day. So it'll be a bit crazy.

Traveling with a special needs kid always has a high potential for challenges, but at least our drive should only be about an hour and a quarter. Some of the other families are coming in from the the opposite end of the continent, or pulling all-nighters on the road to get there.

We're looking forward to meeting every one at 4 Paws, all the other families, all the other kids, and all the other dogs. And especially Amelia's new best friend Bobo.

--

Meeting the Winter Wonder Dogs

2009-11-28T01:14:00.006-05:00

December 1st is just around the corner.

We'll be updating this blog as much as possible over the 10 days of training. We're very excited. It's been almost a year and a half since we first heard about 4 Paws for Ability, and started down this long path. And just under a year since we became the first memebers of the December 2009 training class.

And now it's about to suddenly shift from an abstract idea to a life-changing reality. We'll join a dozen other families to meet our baker's dozen of service dogs.

Thanks to fellow class member Sherrie Wingate
for putting together this lovely collage of
The Winter Wonder Dogs

Amelia has no idea what's in store for her. But in a way, I guess none of us do.

--

Dear Amelia

2009-11-13T22:45:00.005-05:00

YES I am your dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How awesome is that! I get to be your best buddy ever! Okay, so Amelia. Do you mind that I am a boy? I am not one of those "redneck dogs" I can be a man and still wear Pink! I know that girls like Pink, so if you like Pink then that is fine with me. If you want tea parties and dress up games well that is okay too! I am a real man, I can do it! We will have all kinds of fun Amelia! I want to sleep in your room is that okay with you? Do you like to play ball? Well, I came to 4 Paws from my friend Lacey's house. She told me all about 4 Paws and I was so excited. you see Lacey is a service dog! Her boy is named Phillip. I watched how she did her job and took notes so I had one up on everyone else. I knew what a service dog does in the real world. She got to go EVERYWHERE Phillip went and I had to stay home. Now I am your buddy Amelia and I get to go with you! I came to 4 Paws because my family knew I was destined to do great things and they already had a service dog. My name is Bobo and I am a Golden Retriever. My birthday is 1-18-2007. xoxoxoxoxoxo Bobo

--

COUNTDOWN

2009-09-03T23:04:00.003-04:00

We'll be updating during training, which is this far away...

In the meantime, you can help us obsess over the 4 Paws In Training page, trying to guess which dog Amelia will end up with.

Individual Thank You's

2008-12-23T20:51:00.002-05:00

There's generally a long lag time between when donations come in and when we get our list of donors. Even after we get our next donor list, I don't think we'll ever know all of the people who helped us along the way.

Below is an incomplete and imperfect thank you list. We're leaving off last names, for privacy reasons. I didn't include duplicate names, so a number of these actually count as multiple people. (And sorry if we missed you for some reason!)

Even taking all of that into account, please note the length of the list below...

Thank you:

Abby
Abigail
Aiden
Aimee
Airionna
Alan
Alex
Alexa
Alexis
Allanair
Allen
Alysen
Alyson
Amanda
Amber
Amy
Andie
Andrew
Angel
Angie
Anna
Anthony
Arie
Asher
Ashlee
Ashley
Ashton
Autumn
Barbara
Becky
Ben
Bennett
Billie
Billy
Blake
Bob
Brady
Brandi
Brandon
Breanna
Brenda
Brian
Bridy
Brill
Britta
Brittnay
Brooke
Bryan
Caitlin
Caleb
Cameron
Casey
Catie
Cecil
Chad
Chelsea
Chelsie
Chloe
Christian
Christianna
Christina
Ciarra
Cierra
Cindy
Clark
Cleveland
Clyde
Codi
Cody
Colton
Conner
Connie
Corbin
Courtney
Craig
Cynthia
Dallas
Dalton
Dana
Daniel
Danielle
Darby
Dave
David
Dawson
Debbie
Derrick
Desiree
Destinee
Devin
Diana
Dollison
Donna
Doria
Drew
Eddie
Edson
EJ
Elaine
Elizabeth
Emilee
Emily
Emma
Eric
Erica
Erin
Ethan
Florence
Fred
Garrett
Gavin
George
Glenn
Gracie
Grant
Gregory
Gunner
Hailee
Hailey
Hanna
Hannah
Hayley
Hazel
Heath
Hillary
Hollie
Hunter
Ian
Indigo
Jack
Jacob
Jadid
Jan
Jane
Janice
Jared
Jarrett
Jarrod
Jasmine
Jeannine
Jeff
Jenna
Jennifer
Jessica
Jetta
Jim
Jimmy
Jo Jo
John
Johnny
Jon
Joseph
Joshua
Josie
Joy
Jozie
Judi
Judith
Judy
Julia
Julie
Justin
Kaiden
Kaile
Kaitlyn
Kala
Kalyna
Kamerynn
Kara
Karen
Karla
Karrington
Karson
Karyn
Katie
Kay
Kayce
Kaylie
Keeley
Keith
Kelli
Kelly
Kelsie
Kendra
Kennelly
Kerri
Kevin
Kimberly
Kirstin
Koker
Korri
KP
Kris
Kristen
Krystal
Kyle
Kylee
Kylie
Kyna
Laney
Laura
Laurel
Lauren
Leah
Leslie
Lewis
Lexe
Liam
Libby
Lillee
Lillian
Linda
Lisa
Lizzie
Logan
Logann
Lori
Luke
Lyndsey
Lynn
Mac
Macey
Mackenzie
Maddie
Madison
Makayla
Makia
Makinley
Marci
Marina
Markie
Martha
Marty
Mary
Maryan
Matt
Matthew
Max
McKenzie
Megan
Meghann
Michaela
MiQuel
Miranda
Mitch
Molly
Morgan
Natalie
Nate
Nathan
Nick
Nicole
Olivia
Parker
Pat
Paul
Paulette
Petyn
Peyton
Portia
Rachelle
Ralph
Rebecca
Regan
Rex
Rhiannon
Richard
Rileah
Riley
Rocky
Rose
Ruth
Ryan
Sally
Sam
Samantha
Sandy
Sara
Savanna
Sawyer
Scott
Seth
Shannon
Sharon
Shawnee
Shelby
Shelly
Sierra
Spencer
Stan
Stephanie
Steve
Susan
Suzy
Sydney
Tamara
Tanner
Taylor
Terry
Tessa
Thomas
Tia
Timothy
Tisha
TJ
Tom
Tori
Tracey
Trent
Trenton
Trey
Trinity
Tristen
Ty
Tylan
Tyler
Wade
Wes
Wesley
Whitney
William
Willie
Xander
Zach
Zachary

--

DONE!

2008-12-19T23:48:00.004-05:00

As of late this afternoon, we are officially DONE with our 4 Paws Fundraising goal.

Due to a flurry of other people finishing their fundraising just ahead of us, the August and September training classes filled up very quickly. There are no tracking-based classes in October or November (they do mobility dogs, seizure dogs, etc. in some other months), we learned that we are the first members of the December 2009 training class. If for some reason, somebody in one of the earlier classes can't make it or has to reschedule, we could be bumped up to the September class.

To all of you out there who made this happen, we're still not tired of saying, "thank you!"

--

And down the stretch they come!

2008-12-15T16:32:00.006-05:00

So officially, we've crossed the $9,000 mark. But I have it on good authority that my employer's generous donation should be arriving any day, and should be enough actually put us over the top.

Yes, that's right. Any day now, our fundraising goal will be complete. It's hard to believe. We are in awe of all of you out there. We'll post an update when it's official.

With that in mind, we're shifting gears for a bit here.

If you were planning to donate but didn't get to it yet, we have a couple of suggestions:

1. You can donate for our upcoming expenses. When the time comes for us to go to training, we'll have to stay in a hotel near Xenia, Ohio for 10 days. We'll also need to acquire some gear, like a large dog crate. We're estimating that all told, our expenses will be about $2000. To do this, you can use the new "Donate" button on the right side of the page. These donations would not be tax deductible.

- or -

2. You can help another family in our area. Ryan's family is just starting their fundraising. You can learn more about Ryan's service dog needs here: http://adogfriendforryan.blogspot.com/2008/11/dog-friend-for-ryan.html

Two more big thank-you's

2008-12-12T14:35:00.003-05:00

First we need to thank Pickaway County Hands for Disabled for their wonderfully generous donation.

Second, I need to thank my employer, Epsilon, for their amazing generosity.

And stay tuned for some breaking news in the next few days...

--

Some dog bone photos

2008-12-10T14:29:00.005-05:00

Here are a couple pictures of the (literally) thousands of paper bones sold at Amelia's school...

Just to give you a sense of scale, you can see a life-sized Amelia cutout partway down the wall.

These pictures don't even include the big dog house, which was larger than the dog pictured above.

They gave us these big posters to bring home. I've been trying to hang them on the walls of our play room, but it's hard to even fit them. The top of the dog's head touches the ceiling, and his feet still drag on the floor.

My favorite part is seeing all the different names. The careful but crooked lines of a kindergartener, the stylized signatures of older kids, the doodles, the nicknames... Some of the bones say "5 bones" or "10 bones" on them, which I'm sure the people cutting them out were thankful for. I heard bones were selling so fast at one point that some of the teachers were getting blisters from cutting them out.

We also need to say Thank You to the Circleville Herald for the lovely story they put on the front page on December 3rd (or check in your "Shoppers Guide" bag if you don't get the paper). If you're a subscriber, you can see the article here.

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Craft Bazaar report

2008-12-06T15:55:00.006-05:00

We saw some old friends and met some new friends. We talked to a lot of wonderful and generous people and raised a good bit money for 4 Paws. We gave away a lot of free dog treats and people treats as a "Thank You" to our school and our community. We got to say "thanks" in person to some of the people who have helped us so much already. We met Joy the wonder-dog, Alexa the wonder-kid, Ciarra the wonder-sister, and Kristen the wonder-mom. We learned that some wheelchairs have lights on the wheels. We had a couple unplanned wardrobe changes, some broken glasses, a couple naps, and some snacks. We bought some goodies, helped at least one other good cause (the Cure Tays-Sachs Foundation), and our own cause was helped by the awesome Girl Scouts at the table next to us. Amelia and Edson got to play in a big inflatable bouncy castle. Owen got to wow people with his cuteness. Mom and Dad got worn out. And everbody had a good time.

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Craft Fair SATURDAY

2008-12-05T19:31:00.004-05:00

We'll be at the Craft Bazaar at Westfall Elementary from 9am to 3pm on Saturday, December 6th. We'll have dog treats, people treats, flyers, and an appearance by the amazing Joy - the mobility assitance dog trained by 4 Paws for Alexa, a ten-year-old girl with Spina Bifida.

Hope to see you there!

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Another service dog story

2008-12-01T19:42:00.003-05:00

Parents of special needs kids sometimes have to cope with some major challenges. Autism and similar disorders can lead to agressive outbursts that are hard for parents to deal with, and hard for strangers to understand.

But what happens when you add a service dog trained in behavior disruption to the mix?

Here's a story from Samantha Putnam about her experience with her son Tristen and their new service dog Ajax:

Tristen had just finished with therapy and had a HUGE meltdown in the waiting room. He was down on the floor, kicking and smacking at me. He let out a loud scream and Ajax jumped up and ran around me and started nuzzling Tristen! I haven't had Ajax approach Tristen during a meltdown because I know he'd get smacked or kicked. And Tristen did smack him. Repeatedly. But every time I got between them, Ajax just went around me and right back to Tristen. Finally I just quit trying to stop him. He didn't stop until Tristen calmed down.

Now usually when Tristen has a severe meltdown his behavior is off for the rest of the day. But he hasn't had a meltdown since. We even stopped at the store on the way home. He and Ajax are now in the living room, lying in the dog bed, looking at a book. Day after day, it just keeps getting better.

A quick note

2008-11-27T09:22:00.001-05:00

To everybody who has helped us....

Over half way and heading for home!

2008-11-20T14:11:00.005-05:00

Tonight I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful little girl from Amelia's school. She's in first grade. She'd been using her own hard earned money to buy paper dog bones at school for Amelia's fundraiser. If you have kids this age, you know they generally don't bring in a lot of income, so when I found out she had bought eleven bones, I was touched. As usual, I couldn't find anything more eloquent to say than "thank you". But I hope that she and all the other kids at school know what a wonderful thing they're doing.

You may have noticed the big jump in our fundraising total since the beginning of the month. We sure did! (And no, that total does not include the school fundraising money yet.)

This whole process has been surprising on a regular basis. In my mind at least, when I saw our fundraising goal of $13,000, I thought getting it done in a year would be pretty good. And here we are past the halfway point after two short months. And we know of some more donations that aren't included in that total yet, but that'll push us a good bit higher.

Even with the economy looking a little worse every day, people are still giving. Generosity is coming from all over. People giving money, giving time, sharing ideas, offering encouragement, spreading the word. We've gotten plenty of donations from friends and family, but also from organizations and groups and churches... from a Walmart store 30 miles away. From an office services business in another state. From people we don't know. In fact, in some cases, we don't even know where the donations came from at all.

What we thought would happen was that we'd send out letters and emails to family, friends, and co-workers, and we'd get an initial surge of donations. Then we'd contact local businesses and hope to get some more. Then donations would plateau, and we'd have to hope for some media coverage and start organizing fundraising events.

What's actually happened is the opposite. Word has spread. The idea has snowballed. More and more people are getting involved, and the number of donations has increased over time.

We're not really getting big chunks of money from corpoorations or grants or wealthy benefactors. Almost all of our money has come in increments of $20, $50, or $100 - or in paper dog bones by the hundreds.

I hope to get some pictures to share soon.

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4 Paws service dog stories

2008-11-14T17:32:00.001-05:00

Sometimes it's hard to describe all the benefits these service dogs can bring, so I thought I'd share an occasional story from an online 4 Paws support group. Many members of the group stay on even after they have their dogs, to lend support, encouragement, and ideas to the rest of us. And share success stories, like this one from Jen Hanselman (used with permission):

I had to take Kyle for a blood draw yesterday, which is usually a screaming meltdown that requires three people to hold him down while they try to find a vein in his flailing arm. Thanks to Teton the Wonder Dog, we tethered up, walked in nicely, sat nicely in the waiting area and I could sign the papers without having Kyle in a death grip between my knees. During the actual blood draw, Kyle sat very calmly and only whimpered a little, at which Teton got up and butted the nurse's leg like a goat as if to say, "Hey! What are you doing to my boy?!" When it was done, we walked out nicely and got right back in the car with no fuss. Total 180 from the last blood draw! Wa-hoo Teton!

Another Thank You

2008-11-11T21:22:00.002-05:00

Our friend Casey of Fields of View Photography is donating all proceeds from the sale of the two photos below to 4 Paws for Ability on behalf of Amelia. You can purchase them here if you're interested. She's also inspired a fundraiser in the online group Big Damn Crafters.

THANK YOU!

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Our daughter the celebrity

2008-11-03T23:22:00.004-05:00

Kids rule. (And so do their parents.)

Last week we went over to the YMCA to collect some money being donated for Amelia. It was so touching to see a couple dozen kids come out together, with their banner and their smiles, to give us the money they themselves had collected. So far. They decided to keep their fundraiser going until we reach our goal.

The kids were apparently eager to meet Amelia, so after some group photos, they surrounded her like she was Miley Cyrus or something. She just smiled and turned around to look at all of them, not sure what to make of it. We were so appreciative of the work these kids had done, and they seemed really proud to have helped. And well they should be.

Then tonight I went over to the school with Amelia and Edson for parent-teacher conferences while Lori stayed home with sick baby Owen.

As mentioned previously, Westfall Elementary also set up a fundraiser for Amelia. Edson came home from kindergarten the Friday before last and said "Amelia was on TV at school today." Apparently they had her appear on their closed-circuit morning school "news broadcast," explaining to the kids about the fundraiser. They also sent home a flyer with all the students, telling them to save their quarters. They made a huge drawing of a dog, and for 50 cents, kids could buy paper dog bones and stick them on the dog picture.

Tonight I got to see the famous dog picture. It's about four feet high and six feet long. And completely covered in bones. They are overlapping and spilling out around the edges. They told me it took just two days to fill. So they added a huge dog house, probably six feet by seven feet. Also completely covered. And a huge dog dish. And a huge ball. Covered. They even traced Amelia herself and made a big cutout of her, with a flowered shirt and a photocopied head, holding some bones in her hand. So adorable. They told me they won't cover her up though. :-)

And that's not all. Everybody I ran into had something more to share. Amelia's preschool teacher showed me a note from one of the parents of a classmate. This little preschooler had donated his entire allowance to help Amelia. Another teacher told me they were thinking of expanding the fundraiser to the middle school. Someone else told me the total was over $1400 in just one week. Another teacher commented that some students were asking really great questions and having really good discussions about things like disabilities and service dogs as a result.

The preschool teacher in the room across the hall from Amelia's was telling me that kids are starting to recognize her around the school, saying "hi" and interacting with her. As if to confirm her comments, just after that, a little girl, probably four, came up to her and said, "Hi Amelia! Do you want to play with me?" We heard several parents walking past saying, "Is that Amelia" or kids saying, "There she is!" And greetings everywhere we turned. I remember when I was in elementary school, the special needs kids were often shunned, mocked, teased, or even feared. It was amazing to see such a contrast.

I don't know if any YMCA participants or Westfall Elementary students or parents or teachers are reading this, but if you are, THANK YOU! I couldn't even properly express my gratitude to all these people tonight for fear of getting choked up. After we left, I couldn't wait the ten minutes it would take to drive home, so I called Lori from the parking lot. Only it didn't make for a very coherent story, because I could barely get the words out.

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Family Secrets

2008-10-26T20:43:00.002-04:00

...as in: We want yours.

........as in: Your favorite recipes.

We are hoping to put together a cookbook as a fundraiser. We thought this would be a good way to let people contribute in a way that didn't involve those ever-more-precious dollars and cents. Hopefully the cookbook itself would have lasting value too.

So if you've got something good you want to share (or even something mediocre if it comes with a good story attached) leave us a comment, drop us an email, send us a telepathic message, or whatever other method of communication you favor.

It can be traditional, modern, ethnic, offbeat, vegetarian, breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, midnight snack, something for company, something for holidays, something for just you, your grandma's secret, your own invention, something you stole, something blue, a canning recipe, dog treats, easy, hard, fast, slow, long, short, extremely healthy, or a heart attack drizzled with cheese sauce. Just no seafood. ;-)

Thanks!

Another new development

2008-10-20T14:28:00.005-04:00

Amelia's school just let us know that they will be doing a week-long fundraiser for her next week. The coordinator told me how excited they are to help, but also told us how they could use it as an opportunity to teach the kids how animals can help people. To me, that makes it even cooler.

We'll let you know more details later. The help and support are so gratifying.

Thank you Westfall Elementary!

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4 Paws dogs in training

2008-10-19T22:56:00.003-04:00

If you're curious to see the dogs that are being trained right now for placement with families in the coming months and years, you can see them here.

On the same site, you can also learn more about how 4 Paws for Ability uses inmates to do the initial obedience training for their dogs. You'll find links to their work with the Warren Correctional Center and the Larkin Correctional Center. Each participating dog is placed with a pair of inmates. The dog will actually live in the cell with the inmates, who share responsibility for training and caring for the dog.

To me, this is a great setup, because it's a win-win-win. It helps the prisoners build self-esteem and experience the unconditional love that only a dog can give. The dogs get plenty of attention and spend all day and night with their own personal trainers. And 4 Paws for Ability gets to train many more dogs without having to hire many more trainers.

And finally, you can see dogs ready for adoption to the general public. These are dogs that weren't quite qualified for service dog duty, but that are fully obedience trained and ready for permanenet homes.

The more I learn about this organization, the more impressed I am.

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THANK YOU!

2008-10-09T14:24:00.007-04:00

Thank you to everyone who has helped us on this journey. Every time I try to say something eloquent about how much it means to us, the words come up short.

Out of respect for privacy, we won't thank individual donors here, but you know who you are.

We'd also like to thank the following companies, organizations, and groups:
(Updated regularly)

Helping Hands Pediatrics

Pickaway Hands for Disabled

Grace Church of Circleville

Fields of View Photography

Big Damn Crafters

Westfall Elementary School

YMCA of Central Ohio and Pickaway County YMCA

Westfall Elementary Parent Teacher Community

Your Office Annex

Acock Associates Architects

Mark your calendar

2008-10-07T23:27:00.004-04:00

December 6th, from 9am to 3pm, we will be at the Westfall Elementary School in Williamsport, Ohio, for their craft bazaar. Organizers have generously provided us with a table. (Thanks Nicole, Julie, and Roberta!)

We hope to have at least two dogs trained by 4 Paws on hand, and hopefully we can have some baked goods, maybe a raffle of some sort... We've still got a couple of months to work out the specifics.

I know many of you reading this are nowhere near us, but if you are in the neighborhood, stop by, say "hello", and shake a few paws...

[... and if you want to bake some brownies and bring them by, well, I'm sure not gonna stop ya! ]

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Animal Planet Hero of the Year Award 2008

2008-10-01T20:03:00.009-04:00

Karen Shirk, the founder of 4 Paws for Ability, has been named as one of ten finalists for the Animal Planet Hero of the Year Award.

From the looks of it, any of the finalists would be deserving of such an award. As for me, I've got to vote for Karen.

You can learn more about the nominees and cast your vote here.

The winner will be announced on December 4th. The winner's organization will receive a $10,000 donation.

Karen has also recieved a Volvo for Life Hero award and has been featured by CNN Heroes as well. Next up for Karen is Directv's Hometown Heroes.

I'm sensing a theme...

Below are some video clips from CNN, featuring Karen, along with a couple of parents of autistic kids who have received service dogs. The parents describe the impact the dogs have had on their lives and the lives of their children.

(The video is in three parts. It looks like it's ending, and if you wait a few seconds, the next segment will start.)

[ Link to video ]

- Edson

Another Assitance dog in the news: Hunter & Kicker

2008-09-28T16:44:00.002-04:00

Here's a news report out of Colorado, about a boy named Hunter and his service dog Kicker. Actually, it appears to be a couple of related reports spliced together:

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Breaking News!

2008-09-25T18:19:00.004-04:00

Our local YMCA has been great to Amelia. They let her take swimming lessons with her brother. They even gave her her own dedicated swim instructor, someone who had taught her own autistic son to swim.

Then this past summer, they bent their minimum age requirement for Camp Can-Do to let Amelia participate. She had a blast.

And now this:

The YMCA is taking on Amelia's cause and making her a part of their Make a Difference Day activities.

How cool is that?

Kids meeting dogs

2008-09-24T16:50:00.003-04:00

This week in Xenia, Ohio, a bunch of wonderful, deserving kids are meeting their service dogs for the first time. The kids and the dogs are getting used to each other, learning each other's personality quirks and ways of doing things. I'm sure it will be a real life-changing experience for everyone involved.

So what happens when the kids meet their dogs for the first time? Well, some are scared, some are excited, some are uncertain, and some are oblivious. That's why you hear about the autism spectrum. And not all the kids who get dogs through 4 Paws are autistic - some have cerebral palsy, Down's syndrome, deafness, or even a combination of challenges. 4 Paws tries to carefully pair each child to the right dog, taking into account the personailities and temperaments involved.

A lot of kids with autism and similar disorders are notoriously uncomfortable in new and unfamiliar situations, and sometimes it's all the parents can do to keep them from running away. If you know any kids like this, you know that something like this can be a bit stressful at first, and many would be especially leery of "the licking end" of the dog. And if you know dogs, you know they'll win these kids over in the end.

My prediction is that Amelia would pretend to be unimpressed, but her curiosity would show through. And she'd surely giggle if the dog licked her.

Here's a video that was shot at the beginning of the March 2008 training class:

- Edson

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Our first fundraising project!

2008-09-20T10:35:00.010-04:00

First, we want to say THANK YOU for the incredible generosity. Donations are pouring in already, and we're looking forward to our end of the month report to get an official total. It's humbling to have people give so generously.

We've been trying to think of a variety of fun ways to raise money, and also to let people participate who maybe can't donate cash. So we've decided to compile and sell a cookbook!

(If you know Amelia, you may appreciate the irony of a cookbook, given her texture aversions and very limited dietary preferences. But we like irony.)

If you'd like to participate, all you have to do is rummage around in your kitchen and find your all-time favorite recipes, and email them to us: TheFreemans@freemanplace.com. They can be anything at all - dessert, breakfast, beverage, ethnic, vegetarian, simple, complex, conventional, or outlandish. In fact, if you have any dog food, or dog treat recipes, we might even have a section for those. If we got a lot of them, we could even do a separate book.

If you're sending a recipe, it would be great if you could give us a little background with it. Describe what it tastes like, or tell us why you love it. Where did it come from? What made you think of it for this project? Does it have an unparalleled complexity of flavor? Is it one you made entirely from your own garden? Maybe it's your grandmother's family secret. Maybe it came to you in a dream. Maybe you invented it one night when all you had left in the cupboard was ketchup, Busch Light, refried beans, and dried apricots. Maybe it reminds you of breakfast in bed after a wild night in Billings, Montana....

Hmm. You'd better let us know if you want us to use your real name, a nickname, or no name.

Okay, so it doesn't have to have a story. It just seems like it could make for a fun cookbook if it's more than just a list of ingredients and cooking instructions.

Feel free to send along illustrations or photos too if you want - but make sure they're fairly high resolution.

We can't promise we'll use everything. We'll have to see what and how much material we get, and try to find the right balance between content and production costs. We'll work out the exact details as we go, though we do have a pretty good idea how to make this work already.

Ultimately, we want something that people might buy to support our fundraising efforts, but that they can enjoy in multiple ways for a long time to come.

Thanks!

Adrenalin

2008-09-19T00:25:00.001-04:00

[ This is something I wrote back in early July, when the seeds of this whole journey were firmly planted. I thought I'd share it here so you can get a sense of why we're so motivated to do this. - Edson]

--

I'm not an adrenalin junkie. Don't get me wrong, I like thrills up to a point - roller coasters, sporting events, the occasional suspenseful movie or life-changing decision... Heck, I even went white-water rafting once, and loved it. They put a photographer on top of some big nasty rock, and take a picture of your raft just before you smack into it. In the photo of our raft, everyone was either paddling like mad or hanging on for dear life, concentrating on that rock. Everyone except for me. I had one hand off my paddle and a big grin on my face.

But there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. (I just used the word "thing" twice in one sentence. Somewhere a shudder runs up an English teacher's back.)

First, our daughter was playing on the front porch, which she loves to do. Between the porch swing, the sky chairs, the water that collects on top of the rain barrel and the shady fresh air, I can see why. But in order to let her play out there somewhat unsupervised, I had to build a gate to close it off.

I was going about my business inside, when I realized I didn't hear Amelia's singsong chatter. Probably a nap, I thought. No - they said she napped at school. I went out to check on her, but she wasn't there. I checked in all her favorite napping spots, and still no Amelia.

Then I went back out on the porch, and saw that the gate latch was popped. She'd pushed it hard enough to get it open despite the locking pin. The hinges swung it shut again, so I didn't notice right away.

How long had it been? Was she out in the barn? By the water bucket? In the shed? Near the dirt?

$#!+

Every parent's worst nightmare. And for context, Amelia is five years old, she's autistic or something like it, she has almost no language skills and no sense of danger.

I got in the truck and drove the length of the driveway. I looked up and down the two (50 mph) roads that border our property. I called Lori to find out how soon she'd be home (any minute) and keep an eye out for Amelia because I couldn't find her.

Lori went one way up the road and I went the other. How long had it been? How far could she have gone? Did I check everywhere inside the house? A flood of worst case scenarios were racing through my head as I tried not to crap my pants.

Then after what was probably a short while, but that seemed like an eternity... I saw her.

She had wandered across the road to a house that was under construction. It's a good quarter mile away at least. Thankfully, the workers had let her play and kept her out of danger.

And I felt like the worst parent on the face of the earth. And not like the "Bad Father" jokes we kick around from time to time. I felt like throwing up.

That experience motivated us to start filling out the paperwork for something we'd heard about not too long ago: Service dogs for special needs kids.

While we were filling out the forms, not two hours after Amelia's Bogus Journey, she started choking on a mouthful of pretzels. Her mouth was open, but no sound was coming out. Her arms were flapping and she looked panicked. Lori did the Heimlich Maneuver, or something approximating it, several times until Amelia threw up her pretzels and started crying.

Everybody is ok, and Amelia is no worse for wear. I'm not sure about her parents.

Amelia prudently chose a different snack, and went back to her happy routines.

Meanwhile, as I implied above, I think I've had more than enough adrenalin for one day. I've probably had enough everything for one day. But sleep seems far off right now. I wasn't sure if I should write about this, or if I wanted to. I'm still not sure, and I don't know what purpose it serves except to get it out of my system. But here it is.

Not very fun emotions to revisit. I'm scared all over again, long after the fact. But it's over. Life can resume it's normal course.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go put on some clean underwear. Again.

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Service Dog Calls 9-1-1 When Owner Has Seizure

2008-09-17T18:13:00.000-04:00

A few select quotes from this story out of Phoenix, Arizona:

"Man's best friend" doesn't go far enough for Buddy, a German shepherd who remembered his Michigan training and saved his owner's life by calling 911 when the man had a seizure.

...

"It's pretty incredible," Clark said. "Even the veteran dispatchers — they haven't heard of anything like this."

Clark said police are dispatched whenever 911 is called, but Stalnaker's address was flagged in Scottsdale's system with a notification that a trained assistance dog could call 911 when the owner was incapacitated.
...

Clark said Buddy has made two other 911 calls when Stalnaker was having seizures.

Autism Assistance Dog in the News: Matthew & Ajax

2008-09-17T10:40:00.000-04:00

A local news report from Atlanta:

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Autism Assistance Dog video from 4 Paws

2008-09-16T21:25:00.000-04:00

Here's a family talking about their experience with 4 Paws for Ability and an autism assitance dog:

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Tracking, Search & Rescue dogs from 4 Paws

2008-09-16T09:28:00.000-04:00

A video about the dogs being trained for tracking by 4 Paws for Ability:

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A Service Dog for Amelia

2008-09-09T18:45:00.001-04:00

My name is Lori Freeman. Five-year-old Amelia Freeman, a Circleville resident and my only daughter, has a very special opportunity. We are seeking the support of our family, our friends, and our community, in order to achieve this potentially life-saving goal. You can help.

Amelia has developmental delays in all areas. She cannot speak, and seems to understand only a very few words. While she has not been diagnosed as autistic, she displays many of the characteristics of an autistic child — most significantly, she has no awareness of the danger of traffic, deep water, or the ill intentions of a stranger. She also has a fascination with water and a tendency to be an “escape artist,” and generally does not respond to her father’s or my calls. Combine these traits and you have a recipe for disaster!

4 Paws for Ability, a nonprofit organization located in Xenia, Ohio, has the answer. They have agreed to train and place a service dog, known as an autism assistance dog, in her home. This dog — which may well be a rescued dog that would otherwise be destroyed — will be trained specifically for Amelia. Besides being a loving and loyal companion to her, it will be a working dog. Unfortunately, it cannot be trained to clean up after our little agent of chaos. But its tasks will include, among others, tracking. On those occasions when Amelia defeats our latest safety measures and escapes the house, the dog will find her for us so that we can bring her home safely!

I mentioned before that you can help; allow me to explain. Training one of these dogs is a costly process. Amelia’s dog will cost $13,000 to train. Most service dog organizations would place Amelia on a waiting list, from 2 to 5 years, until they could raise the necessary funds. However, 4 Paws for Ability is special in that they allow parents to volunteer and raise the money in their own community. This will allow Amelia to have her dog much sooner, and in addition, it will help bring this wonderful opportunity for all persons with disabilities to the public awareness. As you may know, autism affects many thousands of people, not to mention other disabilities (for example, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, epilepsy, or spina bifida) that afflict thousands more.

Please consider making a donation to support our efforts! Donations are tax-deductible. If you are unable to donate online, please contact me and I will provide you with a donation form. Please do not send money to us! Moneys are to go directly to 4 Paws, so please make checks payable to 4 Paws for Ability, and be sure to write “In Honor of Amelia Freeman” on the memo line so that we are given credit for our volunteer work. If you are unable to donate funds, you may wish to consider donating goods or services (to be used in a fundraising auction or raffle to benefit 4 Paws).

Thank you so much for your time, consideration, and support!

How to Donate Online

2008-09-09T16:15:00.001-04:00

Click on either of the Network for Good or PayPal "Donate" buttons below to make your donation today.

If you are using PayPal, we ask that you earmark your donation for AMELIA FREEMAN by including her name in the "Special Instructions" box during your donation process through PayPal's web site. The link to the Special Instructions appears on the last page of the process. This will insure that we get credit toward our fundraising requirement.

If you are using Network for Good, we ask that you earmark your donation for AMELIA FREEMAN by including her name in the "Dedication or Gift" box during your donation process through the Network for Good web site. This will insure that we get credit toward our fundraising requirement.

Thank you!

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How to Donate by Check

2008-09-09T15:44:00.000-04:00

Please make checks payable to "4 Paws For Ability, Inc." We ask that you earmark your donation for AMELIA FREEMAN by putting in honor of Amelia Freeman on the memo line of your check. This will insure that we get credit toward our fundraising requirement.

Mail your donation to:
4 Paws For Ability, Inc.
253 Dayton Ave
Xenia OH 45385

Thank you!

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