I am excited to say that Stiggy’s Dogs in ready for a training facility! Actually to really move forward we NEED a training facility….My vision for Stiggy’s Dog is here and now!

If you know anyone who has a house sitting (hasn’t sold, or free for winter months), a Barn,  big Garage, a Office (Industrial/Flex space) for Rent or Lease. Looking for something temporarily (few months) to permanent (land contract or purchase). The dogs housed in this facility are all temperament tested, potty and crate trained, and well on their way to becoming a Service Dogs. (No worries about normal ‘pet concerns’).

Ultimately Stiggy’s Dogs will be more than just a training facility for our dogs. I am looking for property where we can house theses dogs and have enough room for Veteran housing too!  Having a place for Veterans to come and stay while they are paired with their dogs  is important for the ‘bonding’ process, so they can learn and train together before going in to the ‘outside’ world.

Stiggy’s Dogs has been patiently waiting for their 501c3 to move on to this next step. Grants needed to lease or purchase property has been hinging on this approval. We have received word from IRS, and our approval is in the works. However, we are already in the middle of a Boot Camp training for 4 dogs and Veterans, with many more in the waiting….

We can not wait any longer, which I why I am asking for immediate help….

Looking in the Southwest Michigan area , Wayne (preferably),  Oakland, Livingston,  or Washtenaw  Counties. If you can, or know of someone who can help us reach this goal, please email me at jennifer@stiggysdogs.org.

Thank you for your continued support.

Donna, our Trainer, and I met with Terran and his family last night. The purpose of this meeting is to get a better feel for specifics things Terran would like Hershey to be trained on, and to explain this next important step of the process.

Donna is currently training Gibbs, who is a 9 month old puppy with manners to learn! I asked Donna to bring Gibbs to this meeting, to not only help Gibbs with his training process (because as a spokedog he will be coming to these meetings in the future) but to also see the whole family and their reactions to having a dog around. Gibbs walking into a new house and one with small children, was a delight for him! I think he thought this was all for him! Gibbs loves children, and it seemed this was no exception. He went right for their little girls face and gave her a million kisses (or so it seemed) She didn’t mind as she giggled with delight. This family was ready for a dog indeed!

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During these past months we have talked with Guidance Counselors, Case Workers and many Veterans. Stiggy’s Dogs is refining our program to better serve our mission. We are excited to announce that we will now be training and placing Psychiatric Service Dogs. We have moved from Emotional Therapy Dogs, to this term.

*To help better understand, see below for the legal Categories (and their differences)

So what is a Psychiatric Service Dog? (PSD) Like guide dogs for the blind, psychiatric service dogs aid people with mental illnesses, from anxiety disorder, Traumatic Brian Injury, to PTSD. PSD’s are service dogs individually trained to perform tasks which mitigate the psychiatric disabilities of their disabled partners.

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During our weekend to Jacksonville,  North Carolina, one my main objectives was a meeting with Carolyn Shields RN (Case Management: Brain Injury Clinic), and two potential Stiggy’s Dogs recipients.

I received an email from Mrs. Shields asking about our program, and stating she has a Veteran that was asking for a Therapy Dog.  Excited that I could do this in person we quickly arranged schedule’s to meet. It was a long drive down (bad weather) but we made it there (only a few minutes late). Due to last minutes changes, Donna and I were attending this meeting with Gibbs (then Cody) an 8 month old Lab mix. Gibbs seemed excited about his adventure on base! Even so, Donna and I brought a special bone to help keep him ‘occupied’ so we could conduct our meeting. Having Gibbs there was a blessing in disguise as we watched him do his ‘magic’ on the group…..

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Donna Fournier: Stiggy’s Dogs Trainer.

Donna has been a Certified Animal Behaviorist and Dog Trainer since 1999, working in the Metro-Detroit area. She is also one of the co-hosts of the nationally syndicated radio show, Animal Talk. Donna is a former member of the APDT and was published last year in their book “Top Tips from Top Trainers”. She is also a writer for Examiner.com on the pets channel. Donna is currently completing her Bachelor of Science, specializing in Behavioral Science.

Donna creates our specific training program per individual Veteran. She creates an intricate foundation; balancing tasks matched to needs, to ensure success for both dog and Veteran.

Currently Donna is training Gibbs (formerly Cody) as a Stiggy’s Dog spokesdog!

Gibbs is an 8month old Lab/mix. He is very sweet and trusting. He is full of curiosity and he has a calm nature. Gibbs had a rough start to life and we think he was destined for us!

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