Burnaby's Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS) has 17 new puppies from three different litters that are in urgent need of help.
The nine-week-old puppies, who will be future assistance dogs, need sponsors and donations or temporary homes for the next 12 months.
"What we do today sets in motion an incredible series of profound changes that will last for 10 to 12 years," said PADS' executive director Kevin Pidwerbeski. "We work with puppy raisers who help socialize the young dogs; we work with our trainers to custom teach each dog for our client/ partners and then we work to support our partners for their entire working life."
The puppies get trained for 18 to 24 months and are then placed with people with disabilities.
It costs the society up to $85,000 to raise and care for a dog during its lifetime of service. The puppies need names, service dog identification, veterinary care and capes (costing $23 each, and a puppy will go through 12 to 20 in its first year).
"Your donation today helps in more ways than you can think of or imagine," Pidwerbeski said. "Money not only helps to raise a PADS' dog and enhance our client/partners life as individuals, but it allows this new dog/client team (partnership) to enrich the lives of people in their community and the neighbourhoods in which they live."
The charity organization will let a sponsor name a puppy for a $3,500 donation, which will also cover its costs in the first year. So far, six puppies have been named and four have been sponsored. A $1,500 donation will also sponsor a puppy's first year, but without naming rights.
Another option is to
become a puppy raiser. The role requires the raiser to give a PADS puppy (about eight weeks old) a home during the one to two year training period, and take the puppy everywhere with them, daily. This is called the pup's socialization period because an assistance dog eventually will live with and accompany a disabled person throughout his or her daily life.
"Please help us to produce more assistance dogs to enhance and enrich the lives of people with disabilities and our community," Pidwerbeski added.
The society is a charitable organization that not only trains assistance dogs, but also matches them to clients throughout the dog's working life.
To learn more, contact PADS by phone at 6045270556, or by email at gail@ pads.ca. To make a donation either large or small, visit www.pads.ca.
