Training Service and Companion Dogs with Kirstin Downie

Liam Dempsey: Welcome to Start Local, where we talk with business owners, leaders of nonprofits, and other members of our community focused on doing business in and around Chester County, Pennsylvania. Each episode will provide insight into the local business scene and tell you about opportunities to connect with and support businesses and nonprofits in your local area.

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Liam Dempsey: Welcome to Start Local. I’m Liam Dempsey, and I’m here today with my wonderful cohost, Erik Gudmundson. Erik, how are you today?

Erik Gudmundson: I am very busy, but, busy in a good way, so I have no complaints. How about you today?

Liam Dempsey: I am very much in the same. And part of the reason we’re so busy is we are doing last minute planning for our networking event next week. It is less than 1 week away as we record this conversation, and I am so looking forward to getting together with our start local community on Wednesday, September 18th, from 5 to 7 PM at Stolen Sun in Exton. Again, no cost to attend, but registration is required. 

Erik Gudmundson: So if you’re up for connecting in person with local businesses and nonprofit leaders, do head over to our website at [startloca.co]. Click on the register button at the top of any page on the website.

Liam Dempsey: Turning to today’s guest, we’re here today with Kirstin Downie, Director of Development and Communications at Canine Partners For Life. Based in Cochranville, Pennsylvania, Canine Partners for Life or CPL is a nonprofit that breeds, raises, trains, and matches service and companion dogs with those in need to help them get through in their daily lives. Welcome, Kirstin. Thanks for being here today.

Kirstin Downie: Thanks for having me.

Erik Gudmundson: And we were really asking if we could have, like, a service dog for this episode to help us get through it because we’re we’re we’re challenged with all our busy schedules, but, I’m not sure if that would make a difference or not. But, Kirstin, it’s very nice to have you.

Kirstin Downie: Thank you.

Liam Dempsey: And I will share for folks out there in listening, Lynn, that Kirstin has let us know that there is a puppy within barking range of her, and it’s not a known barker. But if we’re lucky, we’ll get a few barks in the background today. 

Kirstin, we read on your website that Canine Partners For Life is dedicated to improving the quality of life and increasing the independence of those with disabilities or who are in other situations of need by pairing them with professionally trained service dogs and companion dogs. and that’s where I wanna start. When I read that, I’m not entirely sure the difference. So how would you define a service dog, and how is that different from a companion dog?

Kirstin Downie: Sure. So a service dog is a dog that works for individuals with disabilities, and they’re trained to perform a wide variety of tasks. This includes pulling open drawers, opening and closing doors, turning on and off lights, retrieving items, and even alerting to a medical crisis, such as seizures or cardiac condition. 

A companion is, their job is primarily to be a steady companion, one who offers unconditional love to their people or to their person. They’re not service dogs, so they’re not allowed in places that non pet friendly places. So, they can go like any of our pets to a pet store, but they don’t have the same rights to access other places.

Erik Gudmundson: That makes us wonder how other dogs might be trained. Can you clarify if Canine Partners For Life provides that sort of training as well?

Kirstin Downie: Sure. So we only train the dogs that are in our program. So we provide support to our clients, and they graduate from our program with the dogs that we have raised and trained through our programs, so we don’t offer to those who may have their own dog and need help. There’s different programs out there that may offer that support, but we don’t provide support to privately trained dogs from or from other organizations just because of the differences in training. We really get to know our dogs from the beginning and can help anybody if they are in our program.

Liam Dempsey: And can I just ask a follow-up question to that? Companion dogs and service dogs, there’s other kind of training for dogs, aren’t there? And you folks specifically don’t do that, really do focus on service and companion. Is that correct? And if so, what other kinds of professional training your dogs get?

Kirstin Downie: Yeah. Some of the, some other dogs, some other service dog organizations will focus on PTSD. That’s a very different training than what we provide. And there’s also guide dogs, seeing eye dogs, and we do not do that. We primarily service those with physical disabilities, developmental or cognitive disabilities, and the dog helps with tasks on a daily basis, whether it’s helping them to conserve energy. So the dog’s doing things like picking up pens and, like I mentioned, turning on and off light switches. That’s the type of dogs that we’re working with.

Liam Dempsey: You’ve talked about then the types of folks who apply those with disabilities or needs and the like, but tell us about that application process. Wasn’t what does that look like? How do folks go about doing that?

Kirstin Downie: Sure. So, we have a typical application process and, like I mentioned, the first step is going to be finding out if it’s something, a disability that we can help with, that one of our dogs can help with. So that might be somebody with ALS, somebody with autism, brain injury, a cardiac condition, MS, seizures, even narcolepsy, or, issues that stem from having a stroke. So those are the types of folks who may come to our organization. They’ll call us up, and they’ll, we’ll talk to them about, you know, just the initial questions of what they’re looking for, and if they’re a match for what we provide. They would then provide an application just with some basic information. We would review the application, and as they progress, there would be an interview, and forms to complete from doctors and just getting a full scope picture of what their life is like, what their needs are, what challenges they have, and reviewing that on our side to make sure it’s still something that we can help them with, that a dog is in fact the right fit for them. And then they, if they get through that process, they’ll be on a wait list to get a dog in the future.

Erik Gudmundson: We were reading your website before today’s interview, and we read there that it costs about $32,000 to train a service for a companion dog. How did you arrive at that number, and what goes into that overall cost? 

Kirstin Downie: Sure. So that’s an average cost that’s analyzed on an annual basis and depends on the number of dogs we have in the program, which can vary from 60 to 80 dogs in the program. You know, think about your own dog and all the costs that go into that, whether it’s food, vet care, and then you add special supplies that our dogs may need, even the staffing side of things where staff is essentially whelping these puppies from day 1, and training them through a 2 year program. So all of that goes into being calculated as the 32,000 for a service dog across the industry. It is about the same. There’s some as high as 50,000, and others right around the same cost. It just varies program to program. But we analyze that on an annual basis to determine what the cost is. 

And that cost is not passed along to the individual. We are a nonprofit. So, all that is asked is that they make a donation that’s, meaningful to them, and that they’re able to sustain having a dog in their life after they are through the program and graduate.

Liam Dempsey: You just told us that there’s something like 60 to 80 doggies and puppies in the program depending on what’s going on with the program at that point in time, and you’ve also shared that it takes about 2 years. But when does a dog or puppy training start? And, you know, maybe kind of walk us through that a little bit.

Kirstin Downie: Sure. So you mentioned at the beginning, we do breed, some dogs here, and so a lot of our litters come from that breeding and that we have them here on-site. So really day 1 of birth, they’re really starting their service dog training. and it starts off very slow, as you can imagine. They’re, when they are that young, when they’re just newborns, we slowly expose them to different sounds. So we have an old school CD player downstairs, in our puppy enrichment center, and we’ll play various sounds. So they’ll hear a train, they’ll hear city sounds, barking of other dogs. So we’re trying to expose them to a variety of set of sounds early on, and we slowly increase that volume. Their their ears don’t open up for, several days. So probably about 10 days. So that starts probably about, after the first couple weeks. So, so really they get, they get started then. 

We have volunteers that help, handle the puppies so that they are starting to get used to human touch and humans being around them. So it really starts off right at the beginning and that’s really exciting to see the really little ones as they start to grow and move around. 

So from about 8 weeks to 6 months old is truly when they start their service dog training program. They’re usually with the community puppy raiser and that puppy raiser is helping them with potty training, basic manners, and they’re getting them out, socializing them. So you might see some of our little puppies in the grocery store, shopping with a volunteer, going anywhere that their volunteer goes, whether they’re going to work, going to the gym.

So really those 1st 6 months are about exposing them to sights, sounds, smells, everything that a volunteer can really show them. 

The next phase is when they turn 6 months to about 14 months of age, they enter our prison puppy raising program. So we have, several prisons throughout Pennsylvania and one in Maryland that’s set up to take our puppies in and they have a special program for the inmate handlers there where they help the puppies  focus on basic obedience and the building blocks to service dog skills. 

So that next phase after they’re in the prison, they then come back to CPL. And they’re working here with our professional trainers on their advanced skills and advanced socialization. 

So that’s sort of a nutshell of the 2 years, that a, a service dog would go through.

Liam Dempsey: I imagine that the puppy enrichment center has gotta be one of the cutest little rooms in the world.

Kirstin Downie: It’s got a lot of kids’ toys. Actually. It, it looks very much like a area for, little babies and toddlers. Some of the same toys are good toys for the puppies as well.

Erik Gudmundson: That is an incredibly rigorous training program you just outlined, and it’s a long one too, longer than I expected. And one of the aspects of it that you mentioned, the prison puppy raising program, that’s that’s a unique one that I wouldn’t wanna have to say 3 times fast, but, I’m curious how it got started.

Kirstin Downie: So we started our program, around 2001 due to the need of more puppy raisers. We just couldn’t get enough people in the community to volunteer. So, I believe there was a woman in Texas who started kind of the initial one, and I think we touched base with her and kind of learned how she started the whole program. 

So We started our own, and our first was actually in Maryland. It was the Maryland Correction Institution For Women, and it’s a really fascinating program. The inmate handlers and the staff within the prison are all trained. It’s a very special program like I mentioned earlier, where you have to have be go through a selection process in order to be involved in the program. and they’re very proud when they’re in the program to be a part of it.

So they care for the puppies 24/7 they’re with them going to, if they have a job within the prison, going to lunch, everything that they do, the puppy will be there with them and stays with them in the cell as well. They get the playtime, they get outside time, they get socialization trips outside of the prison. This is all due to help that we have from volunteers who live around those prisons.

Liam Dempsey: We understand that you match those in need with the right dog for those needs, and before today, you and I spent a fair amount of time educating me about that, and I didn’t before we talked, I didn’t really appreciate the complexities of that process. And I don’t wanna say vagaries because that makes it seem like kind of untoward or anything, but it’s just, you know, you’re working with animals and connecting them with humans. Can you play us out or talk us through that matching process? What does that look like?

Kirstin Downie: Sure. So I mentioned before the application process, and that’s definitely where we get a lot of our information, and that just kinda continues to build towards a person’s file, and how we look through that and keep that through that 2 years that they might be waiting for a service dog. And we find out what their needs are as the person. It’s truly about the person and individualizing what their needs ar., And also this, a dog is also an individual being. And so we have to make the right matches, based on both of those factors. 

So, an applicant may have a medical alert need. So that’s how I mentioned that there’s seizure alert and, cardiac alert. So that would definitely put them in a category for a dog that alerts because not all of our dogs alert.

A person may need more balance and support. They may have a condition that makes them not steady on their feet. So they might require that. They may have a different activity level. So we don’t wanna put a very, very active person with a dog that’s just content, you know, being by their side, hanging at home. I always use the example of, you know, we might have an applicant that is a boating person that wants to go out fishing. They want a dog that’s gonna be able to go on a boat. So we’re not gonna match some of the dog that, that doesn’t like water that doesn’t like to be on a boat or hasn’t experienced that. So we really wanna individualize and match the right person to the right dog. Size of the person also matters. You know, if it’s a smaller person, they don’t may not need a very, very big dog. They may need one of our smaller dogs and vice versa. The pace of walking is also very important. If a person needs a forward pull, they don’t have as much energy. We’ll, we would match them with a dog that has that. But if there’s someone who’s not steady on their feet, we don’t want a dog that has that forward pull. 

So those are, those are really unique things that we really have to look at to make sure that a match is gonna be good for both the dog and the person.

Erik Gudmundson: I appreciate that your matching program there has so much precision to it and really looks at as many dimensions as it does. But at the end of the day, I suspect that not every dog is ultimately the right fit for service or companion roles, period. There just might not be, you know, any any good fit there, and they might just be a better fit to be just a plain old pet. So what happens to the puppies for whom training programs are simply not the right fit for them?

Kirstin Downie: Sure. Yeah. You’re right. There’s, there’s a lot of things that could happen. A dog could have allergies. They could have an affinity for squirrels and we just can’t train them through that. So some of our dogs do get released because they’re just not the right fit and we don’t want any dog to be in the type of setting that they’re not most comfortable with.

 so we have a couple different options. We had talked a little bit about service versus companion. Service dogs have a lot more demands on them. They need to be able to go out in public and be comfortable in that. So if we say have a dog that’s in the program and we’re finding they’re just not confident in public, we will change their career and put them on the companion track so that maybe we do have someone that is a good fit. Maybe it’s somebody older who really needs a companion at home. So we would match that dog possibly with a companion to be on the companion track. 

If both tracks seem not quite the right fit, we also have partnerships with canine detection agencies. So we have 2 that detect, their detection dog agencies. So one of them is a detection agency that does things like bomb sniffing, gun sniffing, things like that. So if our dogs seem to be high energy, not be the right fit for the service or companion track, we will reach out to our partners and see, Hey, do you wanna come down and evaluate this dog? This is the characteristics of the dogs that we’re seeing. We know what they’re looking for and they’ll come down and they’ll evaluate and see if the dog might be a better fit for their agency. 

And if all those tracks don’t work, we will Release a dog from the program to be adopted by someone, that’s on our wait list. We definitely have a big wait list for people who would like a well trained service or companion dog that was in training.

Liam Dempsey: All this talk of training puppies and caring for dogs makes you wonder how many of your colleagues actually train the dogs. We’ve talked about puppies live with a family in a home somewhere. They go to prison for a while. So tell us about how many of your colleagues actually train the dogs, and then what other dog facing roles do you have at Canine Partners For Life?

Kirstin Downie: So we have 5 staff members specifically in the program team and they have differentndogs on their strings. So we have 2 specific service dog trainers, and then the other program team members usually have 1 or 2 or maybe a couple more on their strings. So those are the folks who are actually training the dogs. We do have 4 kennel staff, so that’s they are reinforcing all of the service dog skills and obedience that we’re looking for, but all staff here are actually trained to handle the dogs. And, you can see in my office, I have a dog bed. All of our offices have dogs that we can bring over from the kennel. So really all 20 plus staff that we have here do assist at different levels of training the dogs. 

And then we have our, like you mentioned, our fantastic volunteers that we can’t do this without, you know, you heard the different steps in the program. So we have about over 250 active volunteers that help throughout that 2 year process in varying capacities. So they may be that community home that helps out when that puppy is little, they might help with transport. So they might be helping us get a dog from the prison, puppy raising program to our kennel, maybe taking a puppy to a vet appointment. We also have home companion homes. So those dogs that are on that tracks, they will go and spend longer time in a person’s home before they graduate. So a couple months. So they really hone in on those home, those skills, and behavior at home where they can really be a good assistance there. 

And then we have some other roles on-site where you can come and cuddle the dogs or the puppies. You can come walk the dogs, you can assist in the kennel. So we have a really wide variety of roles that you can take on here.

Erik Gudmundson: Do you have any particular breeds of dogs you focus on for your training programs? And, and if so, why?

Kirstin Downie: Our primary dogs that we breed are labs and lab golden mixes called glabs. And we do select that breed, and those mixes because they are food motivated. We do all positive reinforcement. So food is a great motivator for our labs in our golden labs. 

We also do have some poodle mixes and poodles and doodles. So those are for our clients who might need a hypoallergenic dog. And beyond that, we do have partnerships with local rescues.So they will identify a dog that might fit our program and we will go and evaluate the dog and see if they are a good fit to start in our service dog program.

Erik Gudmundson: And what kind of qualities would a local rescue notice? What would they see that would lead them to think, Hey, this could be a good service dog and to give Canine Partners For Life a call.

Kirstin Downie: We would want a younger dog. So a dog that’s between 1 and 2 earlier, if possible. The more we can know about their history, the better, but that’s not, you know, we don’t have to have that. A dog that doesn’t show fear to people, so we’ll go and we’ll just see how that dog reacts to us, loud noises, and just seeing their sort of reaction and seeing if they’re willing to come to the person and follow some basic commands.

Liam Dempsey: Kirstin, we’ve seen some of your dogs in training at a few Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce events. Why are those dogs there? Is it more of a focus on training for the dogs, or is it more of a awareness or maybe fundraising effort, on behalf of the organization?

Kirstin Downie: I have to say it’s both. It’s definitely a fantastic opportunity for the dog to be out and about in new situations, new people. It’s just really great training. The more staff that can get the dogs out, and practice, all those things is fantastic. But we also are very aware that when we walk in the room, that is what everybody sees. They see the dog and they’re curious. Lots of dog lovers out there wanna come up and just find out more. And we definitely appreciate that. It’s definitely also a education piece, so we can inform people about how they can appropriately, you know, interact with a service dog or companion dog.

Erik Gudmundson: As a dog person, I have to ask about the process of handing over a fully trained dog to one of their new companions. Tell us about the emotional experiences that are involved there, as well as of course the mechanics.

Kirstin Downie: Sure. So all of our clients, once they are matched, will come to our Cochranville, Pennsylvania facility for a 2 and a half week, 2 and a half week training opportunity. So they are here to learn everything they need to know about having a new dog in their life. Some people have never had a dog, so they’re learning the basics. But it’s also very different than taking a dog home from the shelter. You’re gonna be living with this dog and taking them absolutely everywhere you go. So we really see it as the dog is ready. We’re now teaching the person what they need to know. So they might be learning the laws of service dog and accessibility, healthcare of the dog, what they need to know about taking care of this dog. And some of the harder things, they eventually the partnership down the road will end. And what does that look like for retirement of the dog, and how to manage that? B

ut we also have some great opportunities. They’re not just in a classroom. They’re also doing training trips. So they’ll go to the Philadelphia airport, they’ll go to museums, they’ll go to the zoo, they’ll go shopping, and they’ll get that outside experience with a trained handler that can explain to them how to navigate things, how to navigate getting on a bus or getting on a train. So they have somebody there helping them on exactly how to do it and how to be successful. 

And it’s hard. It’s hard for the staff who have and volunteers who have put so much time into these wonderful dogs. And we are thrilled to see these dogs go on and live this purpose. But it is hard, because we all are, as you can imagine, dog lovers and absolutely adore all of them and wish them the best. So it’s happy, happy tears, are often at our graduation ceremonies.

Liam Dempsey: I’m wondering if, maybe not the dogs themselves, but the new owners, the new com… I’m sorry. The new companions, the folks who come to to collect the dogs and bring them home and use them in their lives. Do they send postcards and pictures and email and updates and here’s what Fido’s doing now and what a gift and all those kind of fun things that make it easier for your staff to know that the dog that they put so much effort in is doing so well?

Kirstin Downie: Absolutely. They send us basic reporting every 6 months. And every 1 to 2 years, they are also getting recertified as a partnership. But yes, we are very lucky to get some wonderful stories, inspiring stories of people who have gone on to start a career. Or go to college, travel, do things that they’ve always wanted to do, but they didn’t feel safe or they didn’t have the support they needed to achieve whatever goal they were looking for. 

So it is truly touching when we hear about what a dog has helped someone accomplish. You know, sometimes it’s truly about their independence and being able to do something on their own like grocery shop. Maybe they never were able to grocery shop on their own, but now that they have a dog that can help them. Perhaps, you know, alert to a seizure that might be coming, or anything like that, they can, they, they do that with the comfort that they have a dog with them to keep them safe, so it is, it’s why we do what we do. We absolutely love our mission and love to see what happens on the other side and what people are able to do with their lives.

Liam Dempsey: Yeah. And and you shared that there were some follow-up reporting at 6 months and recertification at 2 years, and that’s something we haven’t touched on yet. And I wonder if we I can ask you about that. Is what does that here’s your dog. Here’s your puppy. You know? Here’s all the training to care for that one. What does that relationship look like over time? You shared a couple of things. Can you just walk us through that a little bit more? Because I know you’re putting so much time and effort into these dogs, and they’re sentient business. So you have to make sure that they’re being well cared for. I expect by and large they are, but you need systems in place. Talk us through that if you would, please.

Kirstin Downie: Yeah. So we have follow ups in place, and that’s to help the transition. When someone goes home, we often follow-up them pretty rigorously the first few days, the first few weeks. And the first few months, we slowly give them that support and then give them sort of the runway to to start their lives together.

but we do always check-in. We do have staff here that that’s their role is to continue to check-in on how things are going and navigate anything new that might be coming up, so, you know, someone with a disability may have additional challenges that come their way that they didn’t have when they were first matched. So maybe a dog needs to go, and get a medication or go and get a bottle of water, and the person may need our support in adding any new tasks that they may need. 

So maybe when they left, they didn’t utilize that or they didn’t need that, but now something’s changed in their life or with their health. So we are there for them throughout the life of the partnership, to help navigate those things and help them with new training that they may say, hey, you know, I’d really like to be able to do this and I need some support. So we are there for those questions and for just navigating anything new that might be coming up in their life.

Erik Gudmundson: I’m glad you’re here for our questions today, and I wanna ask you 2 more on that point as well. You mentioned the applicants, all the the exciting things that the applicants can do, after their,  this partnership starts. What are the ages of the applicants? 

And then the second part of my question is, on the other side of the partnership, when the partnership needs to end, these applicants, do they have to reapply for a new companion dog? And are they fast tracked? Do they do they apply before partnership ends? How, I’m curious how the process really starts and ends from the perspective of the applicants.

Kirstin Downie: Sure. So we have a wide range of people who can get a service or companion dog. So we we do serve children up to, you know, older, individuals who may be looking for a dog. And so yeah. We definitely are there for for anybody who may need that dog. And remind me what your second question was?

Erik Gudmundson: That’s okay. Whe the proncess ends, so when the the dog needs to retire or move on, what what happens to the applicant then? Do they need to reapply and become an applicant again, and do they do that before that partnership ends, or how does that work?

Kirstin Downie: Yeah. So we’re helping them throughout the process and making sure as the dog gets older, typically 8 to 10 years is when we’d start to say, Hey, look for certain signs of when the dog might be wanting to, you know, not wanting or needing to retire. So we have them prepared for that. 

And yes, they would apply again, but because we are accredited by assistance dogs international, part of the requirement of someone returning, we call them a successor. They’re returning for a dog. They do get on our wait list and are considered prior to other people who have not had a service dog. And the thinking behind that is if you have a service dog, the continuity of having a service dog with you is much better than having a service dog and then your life being without a dog.

Again, we see a lot of issues come up with someone who has a gap in having a service dog. So we do our best to get those matches first, the successors, as we can.

Liam Dempsey: You’ve talked a lot about the many different volunteers that come in and help you out, and I would expect given the size of your program with 60 to 80 dogs and interacting with different prison systems and veterinary clinics and the like. So there must be a lot of local businesses or nonprofits that you have a lot of respect for and wish more people would know about. Can you share 1 or 2 of those with us, please?

Kirstin Downie: Sure. There’s 2 that I can think of. One is Brian’s House and one is Valley Forge Educational Services, and they both do, something similar. Brian’s House is usually here weekly. They help us in our kennel and they help people who have developmental and intellectual disabilities live a meaningful and fulfilling life in their communities. so they come and they help us here on-site in the kennel with various tasks. 

And valley forge educational services as well. They actually came out for a very specific, timeframe over the summer. It was a program for some of their older.\ Students that were learning life skills. So they were staying in a hotel and we were essentially their job site for 3 weeks. So they were coming out learning all different aspects of the organization, whether it was here in the office, whether it was learning what the trainers did or down by the kennel. They were here on-site, helping us in all those capacities and they too, they offer, a continuum of educational and recreational employment related services for people with disabilities, and they serve people anywhere from age 4 to 24. So I would definitely recommend, both of those nonprofits are wonderful partners of ours, and we’re just so glad that they can come on-site and help us, and we can help teach them.

Erik Gudmundson: I wanna go back to Canine Partners for life for a moment. And, I’m thinking I’m still amazed at the intensity of your training program. And we now appreciate just how how costly that is, or at least how in it, how not inexpensive it is. How does how does Canine Partners For Life fund all that work?

Kirstin Downie: Sure. So we are a nonprofit and we rely on individual support primarily. We don’t get any government, grants or anything like that. We do lots of special events. We have benefit events like golf tournaments. We do write grants to foundations and corporations that give us some fantastic support. And then individuals who write about, write us into their will is another category that really supports our organization.

Liam Dempsey: You mentioned events. Do you have an event coming up anytime soon that we we should let people know about?

Kirstin Downie: Absolutely. Our largest fundraiser of the years are on-site fall festival featuring cow bingo. So we typically have about a 1000 folks come out for this free event. We’ve got vendors, we’ve got food trucks, we’ve got service dog demonstrations, we’ve got our cow who’s coming out to sell some Local Bingo tickets, and you have a chance to win $5,000 if she poops on your square.

Liam Dempsey: And what day is that festival?

Kirstin Downie: That is Saturday, September 21st from noon to 4.

Liam Dempsey: That is fantastic. Thank you. I wanna go back to to your organization and ask 2 questions because the kinds of work that you’ve talked about makes me very, very curious. Is Canine Partners For Life hiring? And if folks are interested in volunteering, are there available positions for that, and how do people learn more or get involved?

Kirstin Downie: Sure. So we have 2 positions open right now. We are looking for someone on my team actually to help with data entry for gifts. That’s that would be a part time role. We’re also gonna be advertising very shortly, a kennel assistant role, also part time. So they can check our website, [k94life.org]. It’s not up there yet, but it should be in the next couple of weeks. So if anybody’s interested, they can absolutely look on our website for any opportunities.

And then volunteering wise, we’re always looking for help, transport requests. As I mentioned of getting dogs to and from where they need to go. And when we are hopeful, we’re gonna have a couple litters this fall. People who wanna come and snuggle those teeny tiny little puppies. We are 24 hours for the first two to three weeks. So we definitely need some night owls who like to come and just hang out and watch, watch these local, little things before roll around and grow. 

Our events also need support. So we’re looking for parking volunteers for our fall festival. So yeah, those opportunities are available on our website. You can reach out to our staff member here who handles volunteers. And yeah, we would love to have anybody who’s interested in any aspect to give any time that they can and help us raise and train servicing and companion dogs.

Erik Gudmundson: Kirstin Downie, Director of Development and Communications at canine partners for life. Where can listeners connect with you to learn more about your organization? I think I heard you say your website, but what is our your website specifically so people know where to find you?

Kirstin Downie: Sure. I’ll spell it out. It’s [k94life.org]. So it’s K, the number 9, the number 4, life.org.

Liam Dempsey: Kirstin, thank you so much for joining us today. This has been a lot of fun. Folks can’t see, but I’m very much been smiling this entire conversation. Thanks for joining us today.

Kirstin Downie: Thank you guys so much. It’s been my pleasure.

Erik Gudmundson: The Start Local podcast is published every 2 weeks. Thank you to my cohost, Liam Dempsey. I’m Erik Gudmundson. We invite you to subscribe to Start Local using your favorite podcast app or ask your smart speaker to play the Start Local podcast. You can also visit the Start Local website at [startlocal.co] for show notes, including links mentioned on this show and summaries of past episodes. 

We hope you join us for the next episode. Thank you for listening.