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We are back with another edition of The Paw Print! Read on for all the updates from the last few months about Hero Dogs programs, placements, and upcoming events. Thank you for your support of our work!
Hero Dogs facility dogs assist people in ways distinct from other types of working and service dogs. In partnership with a trained handler employed by the facility, they work full-time with staff to achieve specific treatment or program goals through animal-assisted therapy.
The Cecil County Child Advocacy Center's mission is to investigate allegations of child abuse, provide support to victims, and hold offenders accountable.
Poppy works alongside her handler Marion, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the Cecil County Coordinator of Family Violence Programs, to provide comfort and help children feel safe during their visits to the CAC. She supports children and their families in a variety of settings, including therapy sessions, court preparation and accompaniment, forensic interviews, and medical exams. Poppy is an important part of the center's aim to promote healing for children and families.
Handler Marion describes one of the occurrences in which Poppy was instrumental in a child's care: "Poppy assisted one child in her medical examination at the CAC. Poppy was able to have a 'pretend' medical exam while the child was undergoing her medical examination at the CAC. At the end of the medical exam, the child reassured Poppy that everything would be ok and that they were both healthy. The assistance and comfort that Poppy was able to provide this child was invaluable."
Marion sums up her facility dog's impact: "Poppycontinues to be a joy to the team and all that meet her!"
We want to extend our gratitude to Chitwan M. and family for raising Poppy, to Barb Baumann and Mike Conrad for sponsoring her, and to The Peterson Companies at National Harbor for providing her puppy scholarship.
Thank You for Your Support!
We appreciate everyone who had a part in our two spring events! A big thank you to the Central Maryland Photographers Guild for documenting both.
Hero Dogs Golf Tournament
We had perfect weather for our April 17th golf tournament! Our golfers, sponsors, volunteers, and staff all had a great time on the green. Another thank you to our title sponsor for this event, Glickman Design Remodel Build.
Another successful Hero Dogs 5K9 is in the books—thank you to everyone who had a hand in making it happen!
Sponsors and top finishers are listed here on our website. Results can be found here. You can check out photos here and here. We'll see you again next year!
Congratulations to These Three Hero Dogs Teams!
From left to right: Service Dog Hero Dogs AC, Service Dog Hero Dogs Trooper, and Facility Dog Hero Dogs Harry
In the last quarter, three assistance dogs found their careers!
In April, we announced Hero Dogs AC's placement as a service dog partnered with U.S. Air Force veteran Ashberry. The following month, we shared another service dog partnership—this time Hero Dogs Trooper with U.S. Marine Corps veteran Ovais.
Hero Dogs Harry was announced as a facility dog in May. He is supporting children and their families as a facility dog at Safe Place, the Washington County Child Advocacy Center in Hagerstown, Maryland.
We want to extend our congratulations to the teams and our thanks to everyone who was a part of their journeys!
Save the Date!
We look forward to celebrating the Class of 2026 on Sunday, October 18th, 2026 from 2-4PM at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, MD.
More details, including which dogs will be graduating, will come soon!
Noonan says, "Thank You!"
We recently shared that one of our Hero Dogs in Advanced Training, Noonan, got injured while playing and we asked for your help covering the costs of his recovery. We are so grateful for your support of this pup on the mend! Here he is with just some of the donations he received from his wishlist.
Puppy Season at Hero Dogs!
We've had a busy quarter; we welcomed eight puppies to our Hero Dogs family!
Hero Dogs love to get together and get out in the community to explore new places! Thank you to our volunteers for attending events, for giving the dogs these training opportunities, and for representing Hero Dogs!
On April 15th, therapy dogs Hero Dogs Sadie and Shanna represented Hero Dogs at Cellebrite's C2C User Summit. As digital investigators, the attendees handle some heavy topics—we're glad Sadie and Shanna could make their days brighter!
Hero Dogs was proud to participate in Take Your Child to Work Day at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation! Five therapy dog handlers shared our mission with parents and their kids, and their therapy dogs enjoyed lots of pets from everyone involved!
April was National Volunteer Month and we had a great time celebrating our amazing volunteers on April 24th at Waredaca Brewing Company! Visit the volunteer page of our website if you're interested in joining the Hero Dogs family as a volunteer!
Welcome to Advanced Training!
In the last three months, three Hero Dogs have moved into the kennel forAdvanced Training! In April, Hero Dogs Echo began the next step of her training journey, followed by Hero Dogs Rin and Noonan in May. We're excited to see all that they learn!
Puppy Yoga!
We had so much fun at Pups & Poses on June 21st! Thank you to Jennifer Carpenter at @jenuineyogi for hosting and teaching this yoga class fundraiser, and shout out to Steinhardt Brewing Company for welcoming us to their beautiful space. Thank you to everyone who attended! Click here to see event photos.
Raise a Puppy, Save a Life.
Interested in giving back to veterans and first responders by raising a future assistance dog?
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