Partners and Paws Summer 2020

Hannah and Fancy continued from cover

Due to the continued spread of COVID-19, we have not been able to hold the Level 4 test for Hannah and Fancy. We are looking forward to proceeding with their testing and certification when it is safe to do so and as restrictions are lifted over the next few weeks. Unfortunately, Hope passed away in April, leaving a hole that is impossible to fill. Hannah tells us that Fancy has been a faithful, fun girl during these challenging times, saying, “She has kept me laughing during these times of high stress. Her creativity and goofiness help keep my days light...She’s injected a dose of get-up-and- go that has made me want to go after the things that I want to do.” Their growing relationship reminds us that the partnership between human and service dog brings more than assistance. Over the next 8-10 years, Fancy will be with Hannah to retrieve dropped and out of reach items, assist with holding and carrying things, and many other direct skills that provide Hannah with increased independence and self-sufficiency. She will also carry on Hope’s legacy as a source of inspiration, joy, and love for Hannah, who says, “It is difficult to gauge how she will change my life over the coming years, but Fancy will be bringing the positivity and the go-get-em’ attitude I need to keep up. While we’re finding our new adventures, she’ll help keep me safe by ensuring that I reach far, but not too far.”

In 2019, Hope retired from her work as a service dog, but Hannah was just starting out in her career and young adult life. Hannah became a candidate for a successor dog, which is a dog placed with an existing partner of Saint Francis when their service dog is ready to retire. Successor dogs are important in ensuring that our partners can maintain their independence with the help of a working service dog. The matching process for successor dogs can sometimes be more involved than matching a new team, because we want to make sure that the new dog fits in the existing team’s established style and relationship.

Fancy was puppy

raised in our Prison Puppy Program and trained by our staff trainer, Debbie

Clifton. Both her puppy raiser and Debbie describe Fancy as a real sweetheart who is always eager to please and loves to work. Debbie also noted Fancy’s position work as being excellent, a quality that is very important for our partners who utilize wheelchairs. A service dog’s understanding and obedience in where they are positioned in relation to their partner and their environment is important for

Fancy’s puppy portrait and in training with our staff trainer, Debbie.

the safety of their partner. When moving and maneuvering through tight or enclosed spaces with a wheelchair, it is especially important. Fancy was prepared to be matched with a partner in winter of 2019. After a series of matching interviews, where Hannah worked with a few of our dogs while our training team observed, it was apparent that Fancy was the perfect fit to join Hannah and Hope. Having passed their Level 3 test at our ten-day intensive Team Training, where they learned to work together with the help of our training staff, Fancy moved to the D.C. Metro area with Hannah and Hope to continue learning to work together in preparation for their Level 4 test and graduation.

“She’s injected a dose of get-up-and-go that has made me want to go after the things that I want to do.”

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