By Patrice Rivers
The Progress-Index
PETERSBURG, Va. — Training for fire and EMS students went to the dogs last week.
Literally.
Breyden and Buddy, two enthusiastic pups with the Clever Canines program, visited the Training Center Feb. 12 to donate four pet oxygen rescue mask kits to fire and EMS trainees. The masks use the same type tubing and tanks as human masks, but are designed specifically for animals who are rescued from any type of fire or emergency.
The Clever Canines Therapy and Obedience Club is donating the kits to several of the local fire departments in the area as well as EMT squads.
While at the training center, the founders of the Clever Canines program, Julie Bowles and Susan Scott Brafford, therapist for the Club, held a training class to show fire station trainees how dogs are trained on good behavorial and therapy skills. Breyden and Buddy were the center of attention as they showed off their behavioral skills.
Bowles and Brafford provide two different types of training -- therapy work with dogs, and positive reinforcement behaviorial classes. The classes are designed to make dogs more respectful and be properly trained, they said.
“We want to help owners to have a positive bond and to communicate with dogs better and to share a dog with other people,” Brafford said.
The women offer two classes in the fall and two in the spring. One of their newer programs is the AKC S.T.A.R Puppy, and AKC Canine Good Citizen class. The S.T.A.R. Puppy program is geared to puppies so they will learn obedience at an early age.
“The program helps puppies get a good start. This is like a starter program to train puppies,” said Brafford.
In addition to demonstrating their results to fire and EMS trainees, Brafford and Bowles take their registered therapy dogs to places such as nursing homes, assisted living and rehavilitiation facilities, showing people how well dogs can learn to behave. A reading program is offered at Beazley Elementary school in Prince George County, called “Books with Breyden, Buddy and Sam” The therapy dogs also visit patients at the Hunter Holmes MeGuire VA Medical Center.
The club trainers do not charge for sharing their trained dogs with the public. Brafford and Bowles just want to help the community by just simply volunteering to share their love of animals.
“We don’t care about reimbursements for gas, we aren’t doing this for money,” Brafford said. “We just enjoy spending time with the dogs.”
At the conclusion of the training session on Feb 12, T.C. Hairston, chief of the Petersburg Fire Rescue and Emergency Services, donated walkie talkies to a representative of the Southside Chapter of the American Red Cross.