Rick Hairston appointed to the Board of Directors of Assistance Dogs International North America

Rick Hairston, President and CEO of Canines for Service has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Assistance Dogs International North America.

Mr. Hairston will begin his four year term starting January 2014.  With the

Rick Hairston and
his service dog Titus

service dog industry being only 30-40 years old, the ability to help shape the future and define the standards of both service dogs and their trainers in the industry is very important.

Assistance Dogs International (ADI) is a coalition of not for profit assistance dog organizations. The purpose of ADI is to improve the areas of training, placement, and utilization of assistance dogs, staff and volunteer education, as well as educating the public about assistance dogs, and advocating for the legal rights of people with disabilities partnered with assistance dogs.

ADI has a comprehensive accreditation system and members have to be regularly assessed to ensure they meet the high standards expected of assistance dog programs.

Canines for Service is a non-profit corporation dedicated to empowering people with disabilities to achieve greater independence. The group trains and places certified service dogs with the help of volunteer foster families and military prisoners, provides pet therapy certification classes and helps children in our community improve their reading skills. .  Canines for Service continues to grow programs within the organization such as the Canines for Veterans, Canines for Therapy and Canines for Literacy and the service dog program. Service dogs, valued at over $40,000 each, assist people with disabilities to regain their independence with the help of the quality trained dogs that can complete over 350 tasks.  Since its inception in 1996, Canines for Service has provided over $8 million in services to our community. For more information, call 910-362-8181 or visit www.caninesforservice.org.

Raise the Roof

Raise the Roof

There comes a time for every nonprofit to ask the question, "Are we doing enough?". For Canines for Service, that time is now, but we cannot do it without you. 
How do we need you to help?  We need you to help us get into a larger facility. CFS has steadily grown and expanded over the years, providing more services within the same walls.   With a bigger facility we can begin a service dog training school, teach others how to train highly skilled service dogs while saving more shelter dogs, and serve more people faster to give them greater independence. The space we need is about 8,000 sq ft of office and warehouse; at least 6,000 sq ft of warehouse for the kennels, training area and the support services (like feed room and grooming room). New space will create an opportunity for people to learn new job skills, which is much needed in the community, and serve people with disabilities quicker. We will also have new volunteer opportunities to engage more volunteers in our mission. Your support would help us move into a larger facility in a long term lease. Let's expand the walls because together we can make a difference for people like Leila.

"Today Leila had a good day and wanted to go to the beach and give Ezra a chance to play in the water. When we arrived, Ezra surprised us and decided to lay down in the water as soon as his toes became wet. He really had a great time. He decided to take a series of short walks and let him walk in the water. When we went back to the car, we stopped at the shower station and rinsed him off. He and Leila both had a great day today, thanks for helping to make that happen. He is helping Leila regain her confidence and getting her out in the world again. “ - Doug

Our goal of $60,000 will provide for 12-months of rent plus utilities in our new space. Click here to donate.

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