Dogs as Teachers

Meet Jacob


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Jacob is still only a puppy but he has shown us that he has great communication skills. He assists dogs that have anxiety issues and makes them feel at home and comfortable at our facility. He shows other dogs that both people and other dogs are nothing to fear. Jacob is the first one to walk with all of our in-house clients on their first day to reassure them. As he grows up, he will be one of our greatest assets!

Meet Ariel


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Ariel is Jacob’s sister. She too assists us with other dogs, teaching them obedience and how to interact with other dogs. Her specialty is remaining focused and non-reactive with dogs that have inter-species aggression, as well as assisting her brother Jacob to make our client dogs feel at home when they come for our in house behavior modification and training programs.

Meet Our Past Canine Instructors


 

In Memoriam:  Cream




Cream was our 7 year old rescue pit bull. He has had a very rough start to his life. His first owner was a drug dealer who taught him to be aggressive. The drug dealer was arrested and he ended up at a local shelter. He was deemed unadoptable, and was sent to a “Sanctuary” on the West Coast. We received word that the Sanctuary was a horrific place where Cream and all of the other sanctuary residents were abused and neglected.

Cream was released from the Sanctuary and we adopted him in June 2013. He was malnourished and required intense behavior modification and rehabilitation.

Cream is our interspecies aggression specialist, his calm demeanor around other dogs and laser beam focus on his handler has helped many dogs learn to remain calm and ignore other dogs.

His behavior around both people and other dogs has garnered plenty of compliments from many clients, and we were delighted that he had become one of our canine instructors.


In Memoriam: Hank 8/27/06-10/13/14


hankIt is with extreme shock and sadness that we have to announce the passing of Canine Instructor, Hank.

Hank was a remarkable individual, born with a heart that was not formed correctly he was given six months to live by his vet and his cardiologist when he was just 10 weeks old. His heart grew strong, and before long he was given the green light to do whatever a normal healthy dog could do. That malformed heart was full of love for his family, his pack and everyone whose lives he touched for 8 wonderful years.

As head canine instructor CJ grew older, we trained Hank to take over her obedience clients. He also helped us with dog to dog aggression cases. He had a fabulous last day on earth giving a flawless obedience demonstration for the Monroe Animal Hospital’s grand opening of their new Wellness Center. He wowed the crowd and was showered with attention from all that were in attendance and posed for many pictures which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Shari & Dan had noticed that he was not quite himself a few days before the demo. They were not overly concerned as he was still happy and somewhat playful. Unfortunately they were given the news that he had a cancerous mass on his spleen that was quite large and ready to rupture.

Hank passed peacefully at home surrounded by his family. It was so hard to say good bye to this extremely special and loving dog just three months after losing CJ.

RIP Hank, Rainbow Bridge just gained another amazing teacher and most cherished friend.


 

In Memoriam: CJ 2/8/03-7/10/14


It is with a heavy heart that we must announce that CJ, our head canine instructor crossed Rainbow Bridge on July 10th surrounded by her family.

Since Canine Case Squad began, CJ assisted us in so many capacities, be it teaching obedience to our clients and their dogs, helping other dogs conquer their fear of climbing steps, getting into a car, or even swimming.  She helped many aggressive dogs learn to ignore other dogs instead of attacking them.  She helped our human clients that were bitten or attacked by large breed dogs overcome their fears feeling comfortable with her sweet, gentle nature.  She did lectures and demonstrations ranging from patrol work to kindergarten classes; she touched the lives of so many.

At home she was always alert, and bright eyed & active, she would rally our pack for walks, play sessions and always called the pack into the kitchen for feeding time. She leaves behind a long, rich legacy and her loss will be felt for a long time to come.

Now Hank and Cream will continue her tradition of helping our clients and their dogs.

CJ, We love you, and miss you.  You will never be forgotten.


In Memoriam: Max 7/1/07-4/10/19:


Canine Instructor MaxIt is with a very heavy heart that we must announce that yet another one of our beloved Canine Instructors has crossed Rainbow Bridge. Canine Instructor Max was the first shelter dog that Shari had worked with when Canine Case Squad was incorporated back in 2007.
Max was a 10 month old pup who was surrendered by his family to the shelter. The shelter had asked Shari to work with him because he was exhibited aggression and stress.
Shari helped Max, getting him to the point where he was cleared to walk with volunteers and his Mom Cindy was a frequent volunteer who walked Max regularly. She had decided to foster him and eventually Cindy and her wife Jackie adopted Max in the spring of 2008.

He thrived in their home and went from an unhappy, stressed and aggressive dog, into a relaxed, happy and wonderful companion. When Shari opened her facility Cindy and Max became a valuable part of the Canine Case Squad team. Max became our “Head Canine Instructor” working alongside his Mom, Cindy with our clients and teaching their dogs not to react to other dogs. Max was a daily fixture at the facility before his legs began to fail him. He spent less time working daily at the facility but would be called in when needed for special cases.

Max spent a lot of time teaching and playing with Canine Instructors Jacob and Ariel and loved when he boarded at the facility so he could spend time playing with them when Cindy and Jackie went on vacation.

During the first part of 2019 Max sadly had trouble standing up, climbing stairs and walking. His family made the very tough decision to help him cross Rainbow Bridge on April 10th.
We will always love Max and his spirit still fills our facility with the love and fun energy that he exuded with us every day. He joins Canine Instructors CJ, Hank and Matty at the Bridge helping to guide us in our quest to help our clients achieve their goals.