Hello bright eyes! I hope the fall term is treating you well.
Get ready for some fuzz therapy on Thursday, October 18th. Volunteers from National Service Dogs (NSD) will be coming to the POETS lounge from 10am-3pm for you to enjoy a much-needed break from midterms and homework to hang out with service dogs. Check out the Facebook event EngSoc presents: Service Dogs for all puppy-related news.
The only thing better than puppies are puppies with a purpose. We were lucky enough to have the Executive Director Danielle Forbes, Fund Development Manager Laura Scott, and Echo (…the dog) attend the 2nd EngSoc meeting to teach us more about their programs and facilities. In case you missed it, National Service Dogs is a non-profit organisation which provides therapy dogs for children with autism. Their training program was the first one of its kind in the world, and they have recently starting training dogs for Canadian veterans with PTSD. They provide the dogs, training, and resources at zero cost to the family, being 100% supported by donations.
Is your love of dogs not compatible with the co-op student lifestyle? The NSD headquarters is located in Cambridge and are always looking for volunteers to help with the dogs, assist with office or grounds work, or aid their fundraising efforts. Despite the busy schedules, some engineering students at UW get involved as volunteer puppy raisers or weekend dog-sitters.
As students, having a pet is simply not a reality for most of us. Volunteering with NSD and coming out to EngSoc Therapy Dogs workshops are a great way for you to get that fuzz fix while helping out an amazing cause. To find out how you can get involved, and learn more about their programs, visit them at www.nsd.on.ca.
Vismit Joshi
An excellent way to de-stress. This program should be put forward and supported!