My name is Six and I’m pretty much your average canine, but I’m getting ready to pretty much save the world. I’m a five-month-old purebred golden retriever. I’m a girl, but I’ll steal your girlfriend with a pretty swift wag of my tail. But sorry, ladies- I’m spoken for. I’m watching over my human Becca Makii up here at Ohio State. She’s watching me while I get ready to serve those who need me at 4 Paws for Ability. I repay the favor by taking her for walks everyday, taking her to meet my other super-pup friends from my organization with their humans, making sure the sofa is properly slept on, and making sure that the kibbles she spills every night are properly cleaned up and disposed of. It might be a lot of work walking Becca everyday, but she makes sure I’m wearing my super dog vest and hangs out while I go play with the other pups at the Veteran’s Lounge.
Let me tell you about 4 Paws for Ability for a second though. These are the cool cats that I’m gonna be working for when I’m out saving the world. They’re going to be overseeing my more advanced training when I prepare to assist a child out there with special needs, ranging from Autism, Diabetes, Epilepsy, blindness, deafness, and even mobility assistance. Pretty serious stuff for a five-month-old, right? Yeah, but I think I’m pretty great. Becca’s always asking me who the good girl is- I mean, she hasn’t told me who it is yet, but I’m pretty sure it’s me. 4 Paws for Ability got their start back in 1998 and was founded by Karen Shirk with two dogs in a small apartment. Now, I’ve got about 100 super-siblings across the country. Once we’re done with our advanced training, we’ll go to work after being hired for roughly $20,000. Don’t worry, I’ll link you to the site at the bottom.
Pets For Vets is good stuff too though. I have SO MUCH FUN whenever I take Becca to the Veteran’s Lounge at Ohio State. I love going there so much to play with the great service men and women trying to relax and take the edge off their day. They’re so happy when I get there! Going there is literally like taking 20 espresso shots of life while getting cuddled the whole time! The smiles on their faces tell all. But if you need more proof, peep my post-Lounge picture below. I’m pretty KO’ed from all the fun we have.
Pets for Vets got started by Clarissa Black in October 2009. She’s pretty awesome. She’s an animal behaviorist and trainer (kinda like our version of a life coach, and psychologist- but cooler ‘cause we’re dogs). Well, Ms. Black noticed a really large jump in the number of American Veterans of War suffering from combat stress related mental illness, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety, Depression, Traumatic Brain Injury, Etc. Again, peep the link at the bottom to get to their page for more info.
Lemme tell you about the wonderful Becca for a minute though. She told me that a friend of hers approached her last Spring and asked if she was interested in fostering for a service dog organization. Next thing she knows, she’s down at 4 Paws for Ability and I’m getting ready to take her for her first walk. She’s a 4th year student at Ohio State studying pharmaceutical sciences but she’s applying to veterinary schools at places like Ohio, UGA, Michigan State and Texas A&M. Paws crossed on Ohio, cause go Buckeyes. She also digs rock climbing, photography, and her boyfriend Landon she’s been with for two years. He rock climbs, too. Unfortunately, I don’t rock climb. Ya know, no thumbs and all. She’s been a great human to have in this stage of my life while I get ready for the real world. From all the walks I take her on, to the constant attention I give her. She’s helping me get ready for work better than even I could’ve hoped for. Hey, you don’t expect me to be as super as I am with a price tag like this and not be just a little high maintenance? But hey, you may call it a vest- I call it my super cape. You should check out those links below though. 4 Paws for Ability is really, really great and the Veteran’s Lounge I hang out with is just too much fun for all the good the veterans and I do for each other.
