News Part II

The job interview on Friday went really well; I was interviewed by Wilderwoods Service Dogs, for the position of Advance Trainer. - www.wilderwood.org- This school trains dogs for children with Autism, and people with other neurological disorders. (Hey I spelled that right!)

This school is a LOT smaller then the Guide Dog Foundation or most of the schools we raise for.
I'm a little nervous about going with a smaller school....somewhat, but guess what? All of our organizations started somewhere!!

Tiffany Deyer is the president and ...well I'll let her tell you about her organization:

November 18, 2005 - "Quoted from Wilderwood Service Dog Website"

Hello everyone, my name is Tiffany and I'm the president of Wilderwood. This organization was born out of dreams, sweat and tears, and I'm proud to be a part of it. We opened our doors in Maryville, TN on August 1st 2005. We are looking forward to starting our first High School program in the spring of 2006. In a few short months we have built our kennels and office, began training our first service dogs and currently have several contracts with clients with disabilities. We are finishing up our first fundraiser and are having a Christmas Party December 9th. Feewww!

I am a psychiatric nurse by trade and have been involved in psych care and nursing for 11 years. I have seen a lot of treatment modalities in that time. I have given a lot of medication. I deal daily with brain trauma, autism, emotional illness, dementia, and Alzheimer. I have also been involved with dogs since childhood. I have trained dogs in obedience, animal assisted therapy and service dog work. Wilderwood is an outgrowth of those life experiences.

In all my experience I have never seen anything, and I can safely say ANYTHING that has been more therapeutic than animal/human interaction. What happens to a person's soul and then their perception in the presence of a beloved animal is far reaching. That relationship impacts a person's life more than a therapist, medicine, treatment programs or all of them combined, in that reality, Wilderwood finds its passion.

Our dogs help individuals gain independence (emotional and physical). Our dogs provide unconditional love and support. They assist in all facets of life such as: retrieval of anything (including meds), opening doors, turning on lights, support during a crisis, able to call for emergency assistance and much more. We are excited to be a part of something so wonderful.

Even just speaking to her, I could tell her heart is in her organization. The interview was of course the typical question and answer session, and then she had me put her current trainee "Timm" through a series of commands, so she could see how I handled dogs etc..
After that she explained to me what exactly the position would entail; I would have one of their "IFT" dogs in my home, for about 3 months, and I would be training and socializing this dog, just as I have done for the past 2-3 years; but ...heh, heh, the command list is about a 3 pages long!! On top of that, I would be responsible for scheduling puppy meetings, answering puppy raisers questions, making sure everyone got to the meetings, and got there on time, keep and get records of the pups..and I'm sure much much more.

Yesterday morning she called me and we set up a time for a second interview!! I'm am beyond excited! This does mean I couldn't raise for GDF, but....its a good reason to stop I think!

So now I'm trying to get myself all packed this week, so that if I DO get the job, I'll be able to start ASAP!

My next interview is on the 28th!!

And if this doesn't work out, then of course we'll continue raising for GDF!

So in my eyes, its a win/win situation!

P.S( If I do get this job, I will update this blog, but it will be private again! Too my new followers send me your email address and I'll add you, the rest of you are still saved on my blog thingy, so don't worry about anything!)