Lacey Hagen and Hearing Assist Dog Ynda By Susan Byers Lacey Hagen’s story is a tale of two dogs. Her first Can Do Canines journey began in 2003 with a lively Black Labrador Retriever named Pearl, a Hearing Assist Dog. For most of her life, Lacey has been significantly hearing impaired, resulting from meningitis when she was only one year old. Over the years, she relied on hearing aids to restore partial hearing, as well as support from her mother and later from college roommates. But when it came time to move out on her own, a friend convinced Lacey …
Prison Program
A Life Less Lonely
Connie Hanson and Mobility Assist Dog Trek By Kaity Padden Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a life-changing disease. It damages the protective covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and can greatly disrupt someone’s physical and cognitive abilities. It’s a disease that presents itself unexpectedly, showing different symptoms in each person it affects. However, Connie Hanson’s experience with MS has been made better by the companionship of a new assistance dog. A longtime resident of Richfield, Minnesota, Connie was working as a waitress when she was diagnosed with MS in 1999. Prior to her diagnosis, she had full …
A Gift for Alex
Alex Loehlein and Mobility Assist Dog Yahtzee By Leslie Flowers At first glance, Alex Loehlein of Andover, Minnesota looks like any other 10-year-old boy. Then you notice his gait is slightly different and he can’t walk as far as others his age. These are just a couple symptoms of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a genetic condition in which the body lacks dystrophin, a protein that keeps muscle cells intact. All muscles, including the heart, are affected and get weaker over time. Alex’s parents, Jackie and Adam, worry about Alex. When he is fatigued, simply reaching down to retrieve a dropped …
Winning Combination
John Eliason & Mobility Assistance Dog Gracie Author: Patti Miller In life, we are often able to choose to take the path of least resistance. But what if you didn’t get the choice? Imagine for a moment a path lined with obstacles, but not the fun obstacles like inflatable slides, giant swinging foam balls or mud bogs that you crawl through on your belly. No, these obstacles include Multiple Sclerosis (MS), vertigo, social anxiety, fibromyalgia, neuropathy, obsessive compulsive disorder, arthritis, and the list continues. No matter your age, medical conditions like these are emotionally debilitating and physically draining. A young …
La Crosse Tribune | Can Do Canines Pairs Puppies with Prisoners
Emily Pyrek – May 28, 2017 (La Crosse Tribune) – Twenty-five inmates sat rapt at the edge of their seats as 10 rambunctious puppies came bounding into the Jackson Correctional Institute visitors room. Faces breaking into grins, the men reached out to greet the plucky pups who would be both their pupils and pals for the next year. The canine/prisoner partnership, a first for the medium-security Jackson Correctional Institute, was arranged through Can Do Canines, a New Hope, Minn., based nonprofit that trains dogs of all breeds and sizes to help people with mobility challenges, hearing loss, diabetes, childhood autism …
La Crosse Tribune | Assistance Dogs Arrive at Jackson Correctional Institution
Can Do Canines, a non-profit organization that trains assistance dogs for people with disabilities and provides them free of charge to those who need them, started its sixth prison training program at the Jackson Correctional Institution in Black River Falls. Ten puppies from the “P litter”, which means all of their names start with the letter P, arrived to an excited group of staff and inmates ready to meet their canine companions. Warden Lizzie Tegles said the whole institution has been dying of anticipation waiting for the dogs, who are all black Lab and Golden Retriever mixed, to arrive. “This …
News 18 | Can Do Canines Prison Puppy Program Gives Inmates New “Leash” on Life
Jackson Co. (WXOW) — A partnership between nonprofit Can Do Canines and the Jackson County Correctional Institution is giving inmates the opportunity to train service dogs. The partnership is the second Can Do Canines has with a Wisconsin prison. “We’ve been trying to find a canine program for the past two years and for one reason or another it just hasn’t worked out,” Warden Lizzie Tegels said. “We’re so happy to be able to offer this to our inmates now and I think it will give them a new sense of purpose.” On Tuesday, ten puppies were delivered to the prison …
News 8000 | Prison Launches Service Dog Training Program
BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. (WKBT) – The Jackson Correctional Institution in Black River Falls got a little puppy love Tuesday, part of a training exercise between inmates and a few four-legged friends. Inmate Lee Brooks is meeting his soon-to-be cellmate, Portia. “She’s going to be amazing, and she’s smart. Look at those eyes!” Brooks exclaims. Full of puppy excitement, Portia is happy to meet her newest friend. “It was my chance to give back. I love animals,” Brooks said. Portia is one of 10 black Lab puppies introduced to the Jackson Correctional Institution with inmates training them to one day …
WEAU 13 News | Inmates Train Service Puppies at Jackson Correctional Institution
BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. (WEAU) — A group of inmates at the Jackson Correctional Institution is giving back to the community by raising service dogs for the Minneapolis-based organization Can Do Canines. Ten puppies, all four months old and from the same litter of black Lab and Golden Retriever mixes checked into prison for a new adventure.The organization already works with several prisons across Wisconsin and Minnesota, but Tuesday marked the start of the program in Jackson County. The inmates will spend the next year raising the puppies and teaching them basic obedience commands. Can Do Canines says it has found success …
Restoring Independence
Frank Koss and Mobility Assist Dog Pinta Author: Bobb Elsenpeter Independence is something most people take for granted. But when that capacity is taken away, the result is devastating. Thankfully, getting some of those abilities back is life changing. Such is the case with Frank Koss of Plymouth, Minn. Frank suffered a back injury in November of 2004 and as a result has had numerous back surgeries, including spinal fusions. A recent surgery resulted in even more health complications. He found himself in a wheelchair and wasn’t able to walk for seven months. Frank has an abnormal gait and no …