As we enter the swing of the holiday season, we would like to take a moment to share with you some of the highlights of our work in 2003. We made our 25th successful placement this year and our future looks as bright as the North Star itself! We look forward to a productive, supportive, and hopeful new year for all the families we serve.

Here are some updates from our most recent placements:

The five puppies from our springtime litter - Rita, Nomar, Apollo, Shiloh & Echo - have all been placed with their children and are maturing into valuable working dogs. These North Star dogs have been specifically trained to meet their children's social, emotional and educational goals.

Rita was paired with three young and active children, one of whom has autism. Rita is a very mellow Golden whose temperament was specifically selected for this lively bunch. The children are all taking turns reading to Rita at night, and this has become a favorite family activity. Rita is always ready to be read to, or to curl up for a quick cuddle. Reading to and cuddling with dogs helps to keep children focused on the social world around them in a very natural way.

Rita's brother Nomar was paired with a boy named Jake, who is on the autism spectrum. Nomar is excelling in his ability to find Jake on cue, and he is currently working on shadowing Jake during the course of his day. We recently consulted with search & rescue expert Nancy Lyon and professional dog trainer Dee Ganley to discuss Nomar's advanced training in search and rescue, as well as to develop a technique to train Nomar to gently herd Jake back to home. This is groundbreaking work in progress, and I will be sure to share it with you when it is complete.

Nomar's brother Apollo was paired with an older boy named Zach, who lives in New Jersey. Zach greatly enjoys the attention they draw when walking together in public; being able to walk independently with Apollo and answer the fairly predictable questions that come his way is a valuable way for him to gain self-esteem and confidence. Apollo recently visited Zach’s classroom and was enthusiastically greeted by all his classmates. Professional trainer Barbara Nagy is currently working with Apollo, and Zach's sister Lessie is also helping to socialize Apollo and to fully establish his foundation behaviors.

A meeting was recently held to discuss ways to incorporate Apollo's sister Shiloh into her boy Caleb’s school program. Caleb is a delightful child on the autism spectrum with an engaging personality, but children with autism often have difficulty being accepted by their less enlightened classmates. Caleb has been left out on the playground as well as called names that hurt him as much as any thrown stick or stone. Pragmatic, or social, language cannot develop in a vacuum, but as luck would have it a well-bred and well-trained dog is veritable kid magnet in school. Shiloh will be gradually included into Caleb’s school day with the specific goal of helping to increase his socialization opportunities along with decreasing his anxiety.

Shiloh's sister Echo and Castle, a Labrador puppy acquired from Guiding Eyes for the Blind, are both being trained to use a warning box designed by trainer Nancy Fantom of Saddleback Pet Services in New Hampshire. This box is designed to be pressed by a dog on a cue that will become associated with a dangerous action of a child (i.e., a child unattended in the kitchen). These dogs are also helping to keep their children outwardly focused and involved with the animate world.

A North Star Golden named Charlie is currently being paired with a young girl named Olivia (below), who has cancer. It is hoped that Charlie’s presence will help her to cope with her difficult rounds of chemotherapy and doctor visits; helping to train him will also help Olivia to feel more in control of her life. As a dog selected and trained specifically to help be able to accompany Olivia anywhere she must go throughout this troubling time.

A female Labrador named Lexi was recently acquired from Guiding Eyes for the Blind to work with a young boy named John, who is on the autism spectrum. Lexi proved too sensitive for Seeing Eye work, but she is perfect for the job of becoming a partner to this young boy. Lexi is currently being raised with great care by a thirteen year old puppy raiser named Sarah and her 11 year old brother Benjamin in Ithaca, New York.

Brother and sister Terry and Rae are raising a North Star pup named Rusty in Cleveland, Ohio. Rusty is to be paired with an autistic young boy named Christian, who lives in Pennsylvania. Along with Sarah, Benjamin and Emily, Terry and Rae are learning to give unselfishly of their time and talent. We would also like to recognize these children's parents for their kind support of this important endeavor.

Another puppy raiser named Emily in Connecticut is raising a Standard Poodle named Blue for a young girl named Sami, who has seizures. We are hoping that Blue will be able to provide an effective Seizure Alert and Response for Sami (although an alert cannot be trained, it can be recognized and expanded into a valuable response). Blue was specifically selected for Sami's family, as her mother is highly allergic to dogs. (As a standard poodle has hair and not fur they are a good choice for families with an allergic member.) Blue was donated by Dom and Carol Passarelli of Ollie's Angels in Hamden, Connecticut, and we are very grateful for their generous gift to North Star.

This year brought us a valuable addition to our North Star family. My colleague Rachel Friedman, a practicing social worker and owner of the training facility A Better Pet LLC (www.ABetterPet.com), was offered and happily accepted our offer to promote her to Director of North Star. In turn, my role is now Executive Director. North Star is already shining higher in the sky since Rachel came aboard. Please visit our redesigned website to see the new services and specialized products we now have to offer (with all proceeds going to support North Star’s important work). We owe our new website to webmaster Jay Levan, who worked for North Star at a fraction of what his time is truly worth. We are very grateful for his services.

Currently on our waiting list are several children in foster care as well as children dealing with the challenge of developmental disabilities and difficult life circumstances. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to North Star Foundation; we are a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization and we greatly appreciate your support. Together, we can make a difference in the life of a child through the gift of a specially bred and trained Assistance Dog.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

Warm regards,

Patty Dobbs Gross
Executive Director
North Star Foundation

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