'Love, time, care and effort': Service dogs celebrated at graduation party
More than a dozen specially trained service dogs graduated Sunday.
Dogs with Wings, a non-profit organization providing guide dogs across Canada, held a graduation ceremony for its most recent class of canine helpers.
Danika Power has been raising three-year-old labrador retriever Charger for a year, teaching him how to be the best autism service dog possible for his new owner.
"He might be trained how to lay on them if they're feeling discomfort," she said. "If they're feeling stress, he can lay on them and do a squish, which means he pushes into their chest with (his) head until they're feeling calm."
Hundreds of people gathered in west Edmonton to support Charger and 15 other graduating service dogs. Power said it was a "proud dog mom moment."
"It is very hard though to give up an animal, because you are attached to them," she said. "But you think, 'OK, this is why I'm doing it – to make a difference, to make someone's life better.
"And so seeing him today on stage graduating with his cap gown with his family – that means a lot to me."
Danika Power and three-year-old Charger, an autism service dog, at the Dogs with Wings graduation ceremony on May 26, 2024. (Adel Ahmed/CTV News Edmonton) According to Dogs with Wings, it takes around $40,000 and between two and three years to breed, raise, train and home an assistance dog.
"There's a lot of training that we put into these dogs, there's a lot of love, time, care and effort that we put into them," training program manager Piera Angotti said.
That love and care, Angotti said, makes these ceremonies bittersweet moments for many of the Dogs with Wings staff who also care for the animals before they're homes.
"It's really incredible and as hard as it is to say goodbye to the dogs, seeing them with their final person … it's full circle, and it makes me feel good about what we do here,"
In its 27 years, Dogs with Wings has placed more than 200 assistance dogs.
For more information, visit the Dogs with Wings website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Heat back in parts of the country, with temperatures feeling as warm as 45
A heat wave is expected to hit parts of Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick this week, and it could feel as warm as 45, according to latest forecasts.
Nuclear-armed nations are deepening their reliance on their nuclear weapons, watchdog finds
The world's nine nuclear-armed states continue to modernize their nuclear weapons as the countries deepened their reliance on such deterrence in 2023, a Swedish think tank said Monday.
opinion Symbolic meaning behind Princess of Wales' style choices at first public appearance since diagnosis revealed
The Trooping the Colour marked the first public outing this year for the Princess of Wales, who has not been seen at any official royal engagements since December 2023. We now know that was due to abdominal surgery and preventive chemotherapy, with no return to public life anytime soon. But the Princess of Wales chose this occasion to soft launch her return to royal life, and it was eagerly anticipated.
2 Canadian cities ranked high on global list of most expensive places to buy a home
As Canadians continue to struggle with the extremely high cost of buying a home in some of the country’s major urban centres, a new global report is underscoring just how expensive some of those markets are.
Israeli officials say Netanyahu has dissolved the War Cabinet after key partner bolted government
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved the influential War Cabinet tasked with steering the war in Gaza, Israeli officials said Monday, a move that comes days after a key member of the body bolted the government over frustrations surrounding the Israeli leader's handling of the war.
World's first weekly insulin injection coming to Canada in 2 weeks, manufacturer says
Many people with diabetes in Canada will soon be able to take insulin once a week instead of daily, drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk announced on Monday.
Putin to visit North Korea for talks with Kim Jong Un, both countries say
North Korean state media says Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in the country on Tuesday for a two-day visit.
U.S. surgeon general calls on Congress to require social media warning labels, like those on cigarettes
The U.S. surgeon general has called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms similar to those now mandatory on cigarette boxes.
Keeping children safe on social media: What parents should know to protect their kids
At what age should kids be on social media? Should they be on it at all? If they aren't, will they be social pariahs? Should parents monitor their conversations? Do parental controls work?