Helping Paw

Helping Paw
Gunner's Mate Chief Jeannette Tarqueno, a wounded Naval service member officially received Service Dog Gaza on August 26 after a week of team training. She hopes Gaza will be able to provide more independence and comfort in her life.  Tarqueno has served a distinguished career in the Navy for more than 11 years including service in Yokosuka, Japan at Joint Base Pearl Harbor - Hickam, HI onboard the USS Port Royal. 

Jeannette was struck on the left side of her head by a 30-pound armored plate bracket that was falling from the deck above. Despite the limitations of her injury, Jeannette sets the example of overcoming ones obstacles to continue to live even with the changes she has faced.   After the injury, she took and passed her chief exams, as well as competed in the 2012 and 2013 Wounded Warrior games as a key member of the Navy cycling team. Tarqueno said, "As service members, it is sometimes difficult to put aside our pride and ask for help."

Jeannette reached out to Canines for Veterans with the help of Safe Harbor and her case manager. After completing an extensive application, which included a video and documentation that she was no longer deployable, she was approved for a service dog and matched with Gaza to help her overcome her limitations and achieve her goal of completing a distinguished Navy career.   "The application process asks for a lot of information and the video was most challenging”, says Jeannette.  “but many groups require a service member to travel at their own expense for a face-to-face interview.  Canines for Veterans has found a way to make the application process work without the expense or loss of time to the Veteran.”

Service Dog Gaza will accompany Jeannette and assist her with her balance issues, PTSD and issues related to her traumatic brain injury at her new post in Rock Hill, IL.  "It's a wonderful program. I couldn't be more blessed to have such an incredible companion," said Tarqueno.

Celebrating Volunteerism

Celebrating Volunteerism

At Canines for Service, WE LOVE OUR VOLUNTEERS!!!!!  In September we held our annual picnic to celebrate our volunteers. It was a great turnout and we had so much fun spending time with the people who make up the very heart of Canines for Service.  Our annual award winners were as follows:

Therapy Team of the Year: Jeri Henderson and Biscuit 

Foster Family of the Year: Deb Jendrasek and Chris Matheus

Overall Volunteer of the Year: Marie Walker

Our volunteers are truly the best!  We consider each and every volunteer to be part of our family here at Canines for Service.  Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts! 

We need you!  Our mission relies on volunteers to get involved. From raising a service dog in training to helping with events, volunteers are the cornerstone of Canines for Service.  Learn how you can volunteer by clicking here. 

Brothers in Training

Training to Serve There are times when something happens that just makes us smile.  In August we selected a dog from the Colleton County Animal Shelter in Walterboro, South Carolina.  Eli is a mixed of some kind, but happy and has a strong desire to work.  He is one of those dogs that can spoil a trainer because if you show him a new task he gets it on the first try.  On one of Eli's first big outings, he went to a Charleston RiverDogs game and you would have thought he had been to many before. Fast forward into September and our trainer gets a call from the same shelter.  They found Eli's brother roaming the roads and picked him up.  After holding him for the necessary period the shelter called us to see if we were interested in him.  The answer was yes. A bit underweight and not as confident as Eli, Abner joined the training program and is also on his way to becoming a service dog for a Veteran.   Learn more about the Canines for Veterans program at our website