Changing lives, one puppy at a time: Dogs With Wings celebrates newest grad class
Changing lives, one puppy at a time: Dogs With Wings celebrates newest grad class

Twenty-five new service dogs and their families celebrated the achievement of graduating as accredited service animals Sunday.
Dogs With Wings celebrated the occasion with a luncheon and ceremony to help recognize the new service animals and all the volunteers, staff, and vulnerable individuals who now have the help they need for a better quality of life.
Emily Hendsbee, Dogs With Wings acting director of client services and canine operations, said each service dog receives two years of training, and only around 35 per cent of animals make it to the end stage of training.
"We transformed the lives of 25 families here today," Hendsbee said. "It takes quite a lot of work and training to become a service dog.
"Today was a celebration of our volunteers who have put hundreds of hours into these dogs, our clients who are so deserving of their lives being changed, and our sponsor and donors that make it financially possible for us as a non-profit," she added.
To properly train each service dog, Hendsbee said it costs around $40,000, with families who need one only having to pay $1.
"These dogs do incredible things for their families," she said. "(That's why) we are so thankful for our volunteers and donors."
Mason Lam's son was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. The family enrolled in Dogs With Wings program to help his son with social interaction.
"(We were able to) interact an animal into his life that really helped change his dynamic as he interacts with other kids his age and other individuals in general as he tries to integrate into society, which is already hard enough for kids on the spectrum," Lam said.
Throughout the training process, Lam said the newest member of their family, Kyle, a golden retriever-lab mix, has already immensely helped his son.
"With dogs, it really breaks down a lot of the barriers because now you are interacting with an animal that doesn't necessarily give the same type of feedback or judgement, in certain cases," he added.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Author Salman Rushdie on ventilator after he was stabbed on lecture stage in New York
Salman Rushdie, whose novel 'The Satanic Verses' drew death threats from Iran's leader in the 1980s, was stabbed in the neck and abdomen Friday by a man who rushed the stage as the author was about to give a lecture in western New York.

Anne Heche legally dead, remains on life support for donor evaluation
Anne Heche remains on life support and under evaluation for organ donation after a car crash that led to her brain death, a representative for the actor said Friday.
FBI seized 'top secret' documents from Trump home
The FBI recovered documents that were labelled 'top secret' from former U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to court papers released Friday after a federal judge unsealed the warrant that authorized the unprecedented search this week.
Passengers tackle Canadian man after he became violent, tried to open plane doors mid-flight
A plane bound for Toronto has been forced to divert to Iceland after a Canadian man allegedly became violent and tried to open the aircraft door mid-air.
Canadian who sold his possessions, used up his savings to deliver aid in Ukraine makes a plea for help
Canadian Adam Oake is among volunteers delivering aid to civilians in Ukraine, but he says donations are drying up and he's issuing a plea for help.
Canadian universities earned record-high surplus revenues during COVID-19: StatCan
Canadian universities reported record-high surplus revenues in wake of the pandemic as schools took advantage of last year's strong stock market performance.
EXCLUSIVE | Woman who was stalked by police officer ex-boyfriend says justice system failed her
Despite a police misconduct probe that found a high-ranking B.C. officer had stalked and harassed his ex-girlfriend for years, a criminal investigation into the case did not result in charges.
Canada to test wastewater for polio
Canada plans to start testing wastewater for poliovirus in a number of cities “as soon as possible” following new reports of cases abroad, the Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed on Friday.
Montenegro gunman kills 10 on the street; police kill him
A man went on a shooting rampage in the streets of this western Montenegro city Friday, killing 10 people, including two children, before being shot dead by a passerby, officials said.