Future service animal demonstrates skills

Future service animal demonstrates skills

Titan, a four-month-old service dog in training, greeted the Sher brothers, Eli and Noah, at the David M. Hunt Library Wednesday, April 16.

Patrick L. Sullivan

FALLS VILLAGE — Pat Campbell, a volunteer with Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities, or ECAD, brought a half golden retriever, half Labrador mix named Titan to the David M. Hunt Library Wednesday, April 16 to demonstrate how the organization trains service dogs.

Titan was on his best behavior throughout, urged on by frequent deployment of puppy treats.

While ECAD has a staff, a lot of the work is done by volunteers. Those interested can simply come to the ECAD kennel in Winsted and play with the puppies.

Campbell explained this helps socialize the puppies and helps them get used to being handled.

For those willing to get more involved, they can take a dog home for a weekend or for longer commitment of six months.

There is some training involved — for the volunteers.

When the dogs are ready to be assigned to someone permanently, the results are life changing.

Campbell recalled a woman who was a quadriplegic, confined to a wheelchair and completely dependent on her mother and a computer with a stylus, which the woman could manipulate.

But if the stylus fell on the floor, there was nothing she could do about it until someone came along to check on her. So, ECAD trained a dog to retrieve the stylus.

Campbell put Titan through his paces for the library audience. She shooed him under a small table and asked him to stay while she sat some distance away and continued speaking.

Apart from the occasional look of mild reproach, Titan stayed put until summoned.

The amiable puppy also submitted eagerly to being petted.

Volunteering for ECAD does require some effort, Campbell acknowledged.

“But it’s worth every second knowing you can change someone’s life.”

Latest News

Summer Nights of Canaan

Wednesday, July 16

Cobbler n’ Cream
5 to 7 p.m.
Freund’s Farm Market & Bakery | 324 Norfolk Rd.

Canaan Carnival
6 to 10 p.m.
Bunny McGuire Park

Keep ReadingShow less
When the guide gets it wrong

Rosa setigera is a native climbing rose whose simple flowers allow bees to easily collect pollen.

Dee Salomon

After moving to West Cornwall in 2012, we were given a thoughtful housewarming gift: the 1997 edition of “Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs.” We were told the encyclopedic volume was the definitive gardener’s reference guide — a fact I already knew, having purchased one several months earlier at the recommendation of a gardener I admire.

At the time, we were in the thick of winter invasive removal, and I enjoyed reading and dreaming about the trees and shrubs I could plant to fill in the bare spots where the bittersweet, barberry, multiflora rose and other invasive plants had been.Years later, I purchased the 2011 edition, updated and inclusive of plants for warm climates.

Keep ReadingShow less
A few highlights from Upstate Art Weekend 2025

Foxtrot Farm & Flowers’ historic barn space during UAW’s 2024 exhibition entitled “Unruly Edges.”

Brian Gersten

Art lovers, mark your calendars. The sixth edition of Upstate Art Weekend (UAW) returns July 17 to 21, with an exciting lineup of exhibitions and events celebrating the cultural vibrancy of the region. Spanning eight counties and over 130 venues, UAW invites residents and visitors alike to explore the Hudson Valley’s thriving creative communities.

Here’s a preview of four must-see exhibitions in the area:

Keep ReadingShow less