Puppy love: Cook sponsors service dog

A few months ago I had the opportunity to meet a beautiful yellow cross lab named Oakley. She was just two years old, but was able to obey commands and be still. Oakley was content to lay quietly at my feet while I sat and spoke with Denise “Dino” Sierp, the Director of Development & Outreach of the Indiana Canine Assistant Network. As you may have guessed, Oakley is training to become a service dog.

Several weeks later I traveled to the Indianapolis Women’s Prison to watch Oakley “graduate” from training and become the loving companion to a woman named Linda. Oakley will be helping Linda with her mobility and will be able to push an emergency service button in her apartment if necessary. It was an emotional experience watching the incarcerated women who so loving trained Oakley and her graduating class say goodbye, but also incredibly uplifting to know that Linda’s life will be enriched thanks to her new helper and friend.

And I’m really excited to share that Cook will get to share in this experience, too!

What is ICAN?

The Indiana Canine Assistant Network (ICAN) is a service dog organization that pairs highly trained dogs with people living with disabilities. As the only accredited service dog organization in Indiana, ICAN brings together three diverse groups including children and adults with disabilities and their families, dogs who love and desire to be with people, and the incarcerated adults that train the dogs. ICAN service dogs are trained by carefully screened incarcerated adults at the Indianapolis Women’s Prison and the Pendleton Correctional Facility, offering offenders the opportunity to develop valuable professional skills and life experience that will prepare them to return to their communities and find a job.

By providing individuals living with disabilities more independence as well as offering hope to offenders who get to work with these special dogs, ICAN is all about “unleashing abilities and changing lives on both ends of the leash.”

How Cook helps

Cook’s support of the ICAN program includes the sponsorship of one puppy from birth to graduation (approximately 2 years). Our contribution will go towards the general veterinary care and training of the dog so it will be fully prepared to be the companion of a client in need after graduation.

How YOU can be part of Cook’s ICAN sponsorship

We already know that our puppy-to-be will come from a lovely lady dog named Dezzie, who is expecting her litter to be born by the end of July.

We want your help in the naming and welcoming of our puppy. Will Cook’s ICAN puppy be a boy or a girl? What we will name it? Sound off in the comments below and let us know what you think!

We’ll be sharing updates about our pup throughout the next two years of his or her training and look forward to graduation celebrations and placement with a human partner.

To learn more about the Indiana Canine Assistant program, look for displays around Park 48 and visit ICANdog.org.