Finding the Right Job for the Dog

Luc was originally trained to be guide dog for the blind. After he developed food allergies, he was donated to Summit Assistance, an organization based in Anacortes that provides highly skilled mobility, hearing and therapy dogs for people with disabilities. The average waiting time for applications is two to five years, as dogs undergo advanced training before they are ready to be placed. Read more about Sherry and Luc

New prison partnership is “win-win-win” program

May 18 was the official launch date of a new dog housing and training program we have been developing with the Monroe Correctional Complex, Washington state’s largest prison facility.
“This is a win-win-win program,” said Sue Meinzinger, Summit’s Executive Director. “It’s a win for us because it expands our housing and training resources, making more dogs available to people with disabilities. It’s a win for the inmates because it teaches them skills they can use when they are released, and more than 90 percent of them will be. And finally, it’s a win for homeless shelter dogs, who will be given a new leash on life."
Carefully screened, selected and supervised inmates are being trained by Summit staff to work with dogs we rescue from shelters. Initially, four dogs were placed with eight inmates, so each dog has a primary and a secondary trainer.
After eight weeks, we will consult with the inmates to determine which dogs to retain for advanced training with our professional trainers and which to adopt out as family pets. Then a new round of dogs will be brought in for another eight weeks of inmate training and evaluation.
“This is a captive audience that increases our training resources and exposes the dogs to a variety of situations,” Sue said. “The inmates have shown us the utmost respect, and they are eager to learn, are reading their training manuals and are coming well prepared to our twice-weekly training classes.”
During this economic recession, when most nonprofit organizations are scaling back on programs, we are proud to be expanding our services to the community. Our paroled pups are sure to change many lives."
Fiona is recently graduated from this program and is ready for her forever home... are you ready for her? Learn more about Fiona

Summit Dogs are family even to each other.Shiloh and Scout were both rescued in 2008 and placed with their partners Melissa (Shiloh) and Anne (Scout) in 2009. Melissa and Anne were friends before they got these dogs who as you can see are friends. Both people are partnered with their second dogs.
Scout shared his mat with Shiloh during a Puget Sound Assistance Dog Club Meeting.

From Summit Assistance Dogs

From Summit Assistance Dogs

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2009 Graduation Honors Four More Matches, Bringing Us To 46 Graduate Pairs

There were smiles, cheers and happy tears as we honored the four most recent
additions to our Summit family of graduate pairs – Taysen Langstraat of Lynden with
Jackson, GJ Leptien of Portland with Zoey, Lynne Kovacich of Spokane Valley with
Adams and Eric Rea of Seattle with Titus. These four bring our nine-year total to 46 lives
changed for the better through the help and companionship of an assistance dog.
We also honored the puppy raisers and trainers who prepared these four wonderful
dogs for their new lives. Jackson’s puppy raiser was Christy Durham of Sedro Woolley,
and staff trainer Wendy McDougal did his advanced training. Zoey’s puppy raiser was
Diana Smith of Anacortes, who also was his volunteer advanced trainer. Adams was
raised and put through advanced training by volunteer Jan Hemme of Anacortes.
Summit staff trainer Lisa Freshour started out raising Titus when she was a volunteer
and became his advanced trainer when she joined our staff last year,
Eric Rea, speaking on behalf of this year’s graduating class, talked about how
dramatically his life has changed since he was paired with Titus last spring. He
reiterated what we hear from our graduates over and over again. In addition to the
helpful tasks they perform, these dogs help build bridges and new friendships, create
independence and hope-filled lives, reduce depression and loneliness, and of course,
give unconditional love.
It takes a lot to make these miracles happen. To produce 46 great service dogs, we
have rescued more than 200 dogs and raised more than 150 puppies. Hundreds of
volunteers have given countless hours to raise, train and socialize puppies, help us
around our office and volunteer for events. More than 3,200 generous donors have
supported us financially through the years. Without them, we would not have been
able to change these 46 lives.
We also extend a special thanks to the sponsors who helped make our 2009
graduation ceremony a wonderful event. Christine Coco, photography; Nancy Nielsen,
handmade personalized quilts for the graduates; Jan Hemme and Barb Clark, the 2009
slide show; David Lorenz & Team at Starbucks Redmond Center Store 349, coffee;
Elaine Montgomery, cakes.
Many volunteers also helped us with set up, clean up and other event tasks.

Dogs of Tuscany Calendar Raises Money for Summit

No, not that Tuscany! They are dogs who live in the Tuscany neighborhood in the Woodinville area, and the calendar was the brainstorm of five sixth graders who live in the neighborhood.
“My friends and I wanted to do something fun over the summer, so we thought of creating a dog calendar,” said Hannah Visse. She collaborated on the project with Cami Pawlak, Olivia Kaplan, Alli Porter and Katie Williamson.
“We went door to door and asked neighbors who owned dogs if they would like us to take a picture of their dogs to include in the calendar,”  Hannah said. “We easily found enough neighborhood dogs to fill up a calendar.”
The girls decided they wanted to sell the calendars for $20 each and raise money for an animal non-profit,
since they are all animal lovers. Hannah knew about Summit because her father, Bob Visse, is a donor, so
she proposed Summit as the recipient.
All five of them spent their weekends in November and December selling the calendars in their neighborhood.
They expect to raise about $400 for Summit by the time they have finished their calendar sales.
“Coming to watch graduation was very inspirational,” said Hannah, who attended the Dec. 6 event with
Cami and Olivia. “We loved seeing how the dogs are making people’s lives better.”

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This post from the February 2010 Newsletter- Read More

Service Dog Allows Man to Live on his Own

"Titus' main job is to open and close doors, pick up objects that Rea drops — such as a computer mouse or phone — and other tasks, as well as provide companionship. At the office, Titus sits on a dog bed under the desk and can react to Rea's commands so Rea's co-workers don't have to be interrupted.

“It's a disruption. It puts me in an awkward position. I have to ask people to do a lot of things for me,” Rea said." Read more about Titus and Eric http://www.enterprisenewspapers.com/article/20090909/ETP03/709099843&template=ETPZoneEDart.