Welcome Center Goes Back to School
It’s the time of year when “Back To School Sales” are happening in stores all around the nation, and kids are being reluctantly dragged through store aisles by their anxious and excited moms and dads. Here at Best Friends, a similar fever is taking place in Dogtown and Dogtown Heights…it’s called CGC – or Canine Good Citizen.
It mirrors “Back to School” frenzy as six Welcome Center employees fervently choose their dog student, sign up for the 6-week class, purchase water bowls and treat bags, and clear as much of their work schedule as possible to pave the road to doggie higher education. Or for some – elementary school!
What is CGC all about? The Canine Good Citizen program is offered by Best Friends’ trainers several times a year to help dogs find their forever adoptive home. Designed to help a dog function well in society, the program teaches a dog to accept a friendly stranger, sit politely for petting, welcome being groomed and examined, walk on a loose lead, move politely through pedestrian traffic, sit and down and stay on command, come when called, remain confident when faced with common distractions and behave politely around other dogs. A dog who passes the final CGC exam not only becomes a better citizen but at Best Friends it usually means they have a much better chance of being adopted. But how can only a handful of trainers possibly work on a daily basis with all of the dogs? That’s where other staff members come in. When it is time for CGC class, Dogtown sends out a call, and many of us who daily run the gift shop, guide tours, develop information systems, or manage the mail jump at the chance to work with a sanctuary dog. We make a solid commitment for a six-week period to attend a one hour class per week and practice with the dog 15 minutes per day on the other six days. And the end result for Sanctuary dogs who attend is worth it. Every dog that participates benefits from the daily interaction and approximately 2/3 of the dogs pass the exam and receive an official certificate. The people learn a great deal too!
So, let’s meet the student dogs here and then you can read about each of them over the next six weeks on their Best Friends - Visitors Unite blogs. Cactus, Coconut, Garth, Karina, Toby and Trisha, six sanctuary dogs of different sizes, colors, breeds and temperaments, are all being drawn together through CGC.
Cactus is a four year old Catahoula Leopard dog who lives at Old Friends. He was found in New Orleans when BF’s Rapid Response team first arrived to help rescue animals after Hurricane Katrina. Originally named “On-Ramp”, Cactus is somewhat shy and has overcome several health problems since he arrived, but we know that working with tour guide team leader, Diane, will give him the confidence he needs to come out of his shell.
Coconut is a very energetic female cattle dog cross from the Lodges. Mary Pat who is the Angels Rest Coordinator will hopefully provide a calm anchor so Coconut can focus on her lessons.
Garth is a small two-year old Shepherd mix from the Garden and has been at Best Friends for seven months. He was very shy and quite anxious when he got here but is doing much better. So right now he’s shy, (as opposed to very shy), and a bit unsure. Welcome Center Assistant Manager, Pattie, will guide him along the path of success with her serene and spiritual nature.
Karina is a beautiful black and white Border Collie from the Fairway. If you’ve ever visited the Fairway, Karina can often be found standing on the inner ledge of her run just to be sure she does not miss a trick. Linda, a gift shop attendant will be attempting to stay a step or two ahead of Karina who is extremely smart and easily bored which could lead to trouble.
Toby is a very shy three year old German Shepherd Chow mix who came to BF as a Katrina rescue and now lives at the Fairway. Gift shop attendant Brittan will work to gain Toby’s trust with the first challenge being helping him to feel safe riding in the car from his octagon to class at Tara’s Run. With a little confidence, Toby will soon be passing the CGC exam.
Trisha, who shares a run with Brody, is a very energetic and curious two-year old chocolate Lab from the Garden. If you’ve visited the Welcome Center recently you’ve met Abby and her mom, Jeri who is a tour guide. Jeri is sharing her Abby training talents with Trisha. With Jeri’s help she will learn to focus her two great qualities while maintaining Abby-like dignity. Another Welcome Center dog in the making perhaps?
As the six weeks progress and the lessons and practice sessions go by, the six two-legged teachers will keep you posted on the Best Friends - Visitors Unite blogs on what our training partners are learning. And, we’ll tell you what our students are teaching us!
Written by Diane Grenda and Mary Pat Dutton
Photo by Mary Pat Dutton