Share the Love, Give Independence - Margaret S
Hansel Subaru is a pillar in the Santa Rosa community and has helped multiple organizations throughout the year, including Canine Companions for Independence. By including Canine Companions in the Share the Love Campaign, we are able to place more life-changing assistance dogs with people who need them most. Hansel Subaru donates to Canine Companions, but also encourage their clients to donate, and gives much needed in-kind advertising support by including Canine Companions’ logo in their marketing. This year they hosted a Halloween pet costume contest that resulted in multiple mentions on the radio station, which is advertising Canine Companions typically cannot pay for. In addition, Canine Companions is also borrowing a wrapped vehicle to use while visiting our graduates, puppy raisers and donors. The true gratitude for what Hansel has accomplished by investing in Canine Companions can be illustrated through the stories of our graduates. Marcella, one of our graduates from Rohnert Park was matched with a Hearing Dog named Vespa in May. Vespa is expertly trained to nudge Marcella when sounds occur in her environment. Before having an assistance dog Marcella struggled with being able to hear simple things that others might take for granted such as door bells, smoke alarms or her cell phone ringing. When she was matched with Vespa that all changed! “No more lost keys I dropped, missed phone calls, burnt cookies, sleeping through alarms, or friends stopping by and not hearing the doorbell,” Marcella said. She has greater independence knowing she is safer and has less worry about hearing sounds in her environment. Another success story for Canine Companions in 2018 was the launch of our pilot program to help veterans who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Because of partnerships like Hansel Subaru, we can continue to train our dogs to perform tasks to help people live better lives. Our first class of four veterans was on our campus in Santa Rosa in October. All four veterans immediately benefited by being matching with an assistance dog that can wake them up from a night terror by gently pulling a blanket off and turning on a light, be a buffer for them in public by blocking in front of the veteran or behind (having their back) and can interrupt anxiety throughout the day as it occurs. The dogs are also trained to retrieve medication from another room in case a veteran cannot get up to get it. David, one of the veterans in the first class said that the assistance dog he was matched with, Sesame, woke him up from two-night terrors before the training was over. “Sesame will help me cope with the demons in my dreams,” David said towards the end of the two-weeks. We truly appreciate the support Hansel Subaru gives us to make these stories possible. Through the Share the Love Campaign and Sponsorship to our gala, Hansel Subaru has donated over $83,000 to give greater independence to those who need it most. They are a true reflection of what it means to live in a community that cares. Thank you, Hansel Subaru!
