The 15-week class allows students to work one-on-one with both therapy dogs and untrained dogs, learning canine care, dog handling, basic obedience training, and grooming skills. In the final three weeks of the class, students put their skills to work at Austin Humane Society, caring for shelter dogs, maintaining and cleaning kennels and teaching dogs basic obedience commands.

Yahtzee gets a bath

“We are extremely thankful to the Austin Dog Alliance and DARS for partnering with TSD to provide a customized dog handling class for our students interested in careers related to animal care,” says Dr. Susan Greene, Career and Transition Department supervisor with the Texas School for the Deaf. “Since the course is presented in American Sign Language, students are able to easily and fully engage in the classroom and hands-on instruction.”

“We have a lot of students at TSD who want to work with animals,” says Preston King, Transition Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for DARS. “But kids without experience don’t get interviews. Getting experience and a real certification will give them a boost in the job market.” (According to the non-profit Dallas Hearing Foundation, 42% of deaf adults aged 18-44 are unemployed).

Austin Dog Alliance hopes to improve the odds for TSD students by teaching skills that can help them pursue careers in animal-related fields.  “We are probably the only organization in the nation offering this type of learning,” says Carolyn Honish, Austin Dog Alliance program coordinator and a certified instructor for the deaf, “and the students are absolutely loving the course. We hope that, as more people become aware that this training is available, we can improve the career opportunities for more young adults.”

I just wanted to thank you, Austin Dog Alliance and the wonderful volunteers that work there for bringing us together with our dog Toby (formerly known as Robbie).  Judy in particular was wonderful and helped us find the right dog to fit our family, and Neena was such a great foster parent until Toby was old enough to be adopted.  He came to us already partially potty trained and knowing many basic commands.  Thank you Neena!

Toby is doing great and we love him every day.  At least once or twice a week my 10 year old son looks at me and says “Mom, I am so glad we got Toby.  I love him SO much!”

Toby is nearing 20 lbs which I am guessing is smaller than many of his siblings that were adopted, but the vet assures us he is in perfect health.  He is now 8 months old and is fully potty trained but still likes to push the boundaries when it comes to running off.  Nothing that shaking a bag of treats can’t fix and it gives me an excuse to get a little running in each day.

He is loving, hyper, stubborn, ornery, adorable, cuddly and keeps us in stitches. I cannot thank you enough for the opportunity to adopt such a fun, dynamic pet.

Why I Volunteer

Just in time for Autism Awareness Month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimates 1 in 50 U.S. school children have some form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).*  That would mean at least one million children with ASDs across the county and in many of our own homes.  While there is some controversy over the study’s findings (the previous estimate was 1 in 88), the point is clear: we desperately need new resources to assist these – our – children as they navigate the social, educational and working world.

This is why I value the Austin Dog Alliance’s work so highly.  I have an adult child with Asperger’s, and while we are lucky that she is very high-functioning and is now successfully navigating college, how I wish the Alliance had been around to help me in the early years.

A child living in her own little world, my daughter’s weak social skills meant trouble getting and keeping the friends she needed so badly, ultimately making Girl Scouts a disaster for us both.  She also had trouble concentrating on her school lessons and even staying in the classroom.  I remember my little Aspie’s first grade teacher calling me to say she’d left the classroom and was found exploring the other side of the school.

Therapy dog Levi helping kids learn social skills

The Alliance’s K9 Kids – Autism/Asperger’s program successfully teaches social skills to kids with ASDs using very powerful tools: mellow, affectionate therapy dogs.  Dogs keep the kids’ attention, help them relax, give them something to talk about and provide a visual learning environment that makes it possible for them to better remember and practice what they learn.

Perhaps if we had been able to send our daughter to K9 Kids – Autism/Asperger’s as a child or youth, she would have had more experience with her peers and had a happier childhood.  It would also have been nice to know that she was with adults who understood and appreciated her different way of seeing the world.

Buzz interacts with kids at K9 Club – Autism

Watching the Alliance bound forward into its amazing new space has been wonderful.  Knowing they are now able to expand their programs, including a new K9 Tots program for preschoolers with ASDs and a new program for 15-19 year-olds with ASDs focusing on career options, is thrilling.

Some of our smartest and dearest heroes are believed to have or to have had some form of autism: Albert Einstein, Alfred Hitchcock, Bill Gates, Charles Darwin, Thomas Jefferson, Michelangelo, Mozart and more.  There is so much potential in our kids with ASDs, and classes like those now being offered through the Alliance can help them bloom.  Who knows how our next Thomas Edison or Beethoven may evolve?  Maybe sitting in the company of a gentle dog.

“They are all here because they want to be. They want to work with the dogs, work with Austin Dog Alliance and want to help out,” says ADAYA Leader Susan Windham-Whitcomb. She finds that these common interests make the group “very positive and nurturing” and noticeably without the clique situations that sometimes happen with teenagers.

Parent Alejandra Zambada has found that her son’s attitude and responsibility has changed since joining ADAYA.  She used to have to cajole him to attend other groups, but “now he is the one reminding me, excited about the activities and the time he gets to spend with everybody at ADAYA.”

Making A Difference

Recently ADAYA has been visiting the Lockhart Animal Shelter, a small, regional animal shelter with an estimated 50% dog adoption rate. “They get virtually no foot traffic,” says Alliance Adoption Support Volunteer, Carla Elmore.  Together Elmore and ADAYA have photographed about 50 dogs over the last three months.  In addition to photographing the dogs, each dog also gets a good romp, leash walking, and loving hugs. Elmore believes, “For a dog to get to run and just be with a kind person, makes all the difference in how adoptable that dog will be.”

Fostering Leadership

ADAYA members play an active role in planning their activities. They discuss all their ideas before selecting that year’s projects, fundraising, social events, and service opportunities.  ADAYA members also help with many Alliance events and programs.  By participating in these activities, the youth engage with adult Alliance volunteers and learn how to lead and how to follow, both critical leadership skills.  Some recent contributions by ADAYA have been cleaning the new Alliance property and assisting with children at the Kidgits Club Book Blast at Lakeline Mall.

Austin Dog Alliance Director Debi Krakar and Windham-Whitcomb first developed the idea of a Youth Association when they kept encountering so many teens interested in helping. The age of the youth and their passion for animals allows them to contribute to Alliance in a very unique way. Windham-Whitcomb is confident that “the members of ADAYA will be our next round of adult volunteers and board members.”

Becoming a Member

To learn more about ADAYA membership and upcoming events, please visit the Youth Association page.  If you have any other questions, contact ADAYA Leader, Susan Windham-Whitcomb at susan@austindogalliance.org.

Sunday April 21^st will be Continued/Odor K9 Nose Work® for Exteriors and Vehicles will be for experienced dogs already on target odor and having completed a previous 6 week class using target odor. Both working and auditing spot available, for dogs experienced on target odor.

About the Instructor

Ron Gaunt, Co-Founder at National Association of Canine Scent Work. Ron Gaunt has lived and worked with dogs the majority of his life. He has trained, worked and managed service dogs for more than 40 years consecutively. Among Ron’s many accomplishments are multiple national certifications in detection, both explosives and narcotics.

About K9 Nose Work

If you have a dog with a nose then you have a dog for nose work. K9 Nose Work® is the fun search and scenting activity that virtually all dogs and their people can enjoy. It starts with getting your dog excited about using their nose to seek out a favorite toy or treat reward hidden in one of several boxes. As you dog grows more confident with their nose, the game expends to entire rooms, exterior areas, and vehicles. Advanced nose work focuses on increasing your dogs scent discrimination skill, adding special target odors to the search, and more.

The sport accommodates, shy, fearful, high energy, and reactive dogs in nose work because dogs are always created separately and K9 Nose Work® games are always played one dog at a time. No Prior training or sport experience is required, high energy dogs burn calories as they race around on the hunt. Aging or disabled dogs can flex their brain muscles as they puzzle out the search at their own pace.

K9 Nose work® is therapeutic, reactive dogs find focus and forget about always facing down the world. Fearful dogs build confidence and the courage to start facing more of the world. All dogs use their natural hunting instincts to play the game. It’s all about positive rewards, dogs searching for their favorite toy or treat reward and getting reward for finding it.

Volunteer Opportunities

Work Day on Saturday, Feb 23 from 9 – 4

We will meet at the current Alliance Training Center on 620 at 9am to move furniture and as many non-critical items as possible.  Your car or truck will be very helpful!  You can also meet us at the New Hope site by 11am to help with landscaping and cleaning projects.

Special projects that day (or another day) include: 1. Installing 3 ceiling fans; 2. Touch up painting the baseboards
Please RSVP in the online volunteer system if you can attend, even for just a few hours.  No special skills required.  Just come willing to work hard and get dirty!

Attend the Grand Opening Gala on Saturday, March 23!

Tickets are $75 each.  This is a milestone event worth dressing up for.  (21 and older only) This night will feature magician Bobby Cordell, singer Erin Ivy, rum punch, hearty appetizers, beer, wine and lots of good cheer in celebration.  Here is the link for the event: http://austindogalliance.org/event/grand-opening-gala/    

You can also help to sponsor the Gala with a financial contribution or donate items for the silent auction.  Do you own or know a business that could donate a gift certificate?   Contact Robert@AustinDogAlliance.org to get involved.

Share your story for our Monthly Newsletter!

Have you had an experience that illustrates how the Alliance impacts our community?  We receive wonderful feedback when our newsletter highlights volunteers and the work they do.  We’d love to share more stories and ‘moments’ with readers, captured in 50 to 400 words, which show the wide variety of work across all areas of Austin Dog Alliance, such as:

The next time you recall a memorable moment, jot down a few words and email nancy@austindogalliance.org.  Even if you’re not a writer, we can help your notes take shape as a newsletter item.  Our readers are truly interested in the work we do, the moments we get to witness, and how we’re changing the world one day (and one dog) at a time.

Small Events Coordinator Needed

This is a great fit for someone with time to contribute, good organization skills and a passion for our cause.  This volunteer will coordinate our presence at events around Austin, some fundraisers and some education events.  You will coordinate the volunteers to man the event, the set-up of our booth or table at the event, and be the point of contact for the Alliance.  If you are interested in becoming more involved and helping us spread the word about what we do, please contact debi@austindogalliance.org.

Calling all fans of Dr. Ian Dunbar!

Renowned dog expert and trainer Ian Dunbar has added an Austin seminar to his 2013 schedule.  He’ll be in Austin Tuesday, April 9 for a one-day seminar, “Cutting Edge Concepts in Dog Training”, including motivation techniques and how to raise dogs that “thoroughly enjoy the company and actions of people, especially children, men and strangers”.  Group discount rates are available.  If you’d like to attend as part of the Austin Dog Alliance group, please email nancy@austindogalliance.org.  See the complete description of the seminar here: Ian Dunbar Austin April 2013

Projects and Help at our Forever Home:

We need ideas for naming this twice-monthly newsletter to volunteers.
The email is sent to let you all know about upcoming volunteer opportunities.  We want to keep you engaged and involved, because we need each and every one of you to be successful!  A similar email at a local shelter is named the Volunteer Voice.  Or we could call it something like the The Bark.  Clearly, I need your help!  Send ideas to heather@austindogalliance.org.

Thank you all for your time, talents and dedication!
Heather

We’re about 21 days from our projected completion day.  Can I guarantee you 100% that we will get our Certificate of Occupancy on that day?  No way.  I’ve learned that in construction, the only guarantee is that each day will bring new challenges and that no matter how many times you review the schedule and the budget, it will change within the next 24 hours.

Before we started building, we tried to hire a general contractor.  The bids we received were between 10 and 20 thousand dollars a month and the companies were really not too keen on our model of using primarily donated services.  I don’t blame them, it is/was a rather risky profile.  We faced a decision, give up the land and the dream of building our special-needs friendly facility or build it ourselves.  Since giving up has never been an option for me, a team was created to help me serve as general contractor.  The team consists of Jan Byrum, Jason Andrus, Javier Ponce, Kurt Cleveland, Tom Byrum and Kory Lyons.  My gratitude towards these folks is beyond words.

I suspect many of you are thinking, ” she’s crazy”.  Crazy, stubborn, delusional. Believe me, I’ve had the same thoughts the last few months.

It’s been quite the journey.  I’ve discovered that I really, really like big machines.  I love watching them change the landscape in a matter of minutes.  Watching a trencher with a six-foot diameter blade make a three-foot trench is cool.  Watching the blades grade to within a fraction of an inch accuracy over large areas of land is fascinating.

I’ve learned that in construction, you can plan and draw and get approvals and when you are actually in the field, things just don’t go quite as planned.  We spent months getting our site plan approved. When we actually built the driveway and addition, we ended up with the corner of our building overhanging the curb and a 12 inch discrepancy between the driveway and the base of the foundation.  Not exactly what was drawn on paper.  We suspect that an elevation measurement for the existing house was done incorrectly, and thus every other aspect is incorrect.  Oops.

We spent three months remodeling the existing house.  It’s done.  Walls are painted, flooring installed, done.  It’s ready for the kiddos.   This week we invited the Fire Marshall for a preliminary walk through (a big courtesy on their part, since I gather that it’s not normally done).  Good thing we had a preliminary walk though.  Turns out the planning and fire departments thought that our nursery was for puppies, not humans.  Bottom line is that we now need to install another ADA-compliant exit door.  An estimated $5K oops that is going to create a huge mess in an area of the house that had already been completed.  (I now understand why the stereotypical construction worker is associated with colorful language. )

We’ve broken the water main four times, had our foundation plumbing installed backwards, had a plumber re-route a water line but forget to connect it back to the main house line, removed wall board and discovered extensive rot, figured out that a window leak was actually due to a large portion of the roof deck being rotted out, on and on it goes.  Every day there are decisions to make.  My favorite was when I was ordering the mud (concrete) and the dispatch operator asked me what ‘slump’ I wanted.  The guys had coached me on all the other aspects of ordering the concrete, but no one had ever mentioned slump.  ( I now know that it has to do with how liquid the concrete is when it comes out of the chute.)  That day, I seriously thought “what the heck have I gotten myself into.”

But there have also been parts of the journey that are almost spiritual in nature.  My construction team has my back.  Sometimes I just don’t know how to handle something.  I pick up the phone and one of the team jumps in to help me.  Trades apparently don’t often collaborate in their work.  Well, since I don’t know everything, they’ve had to collaborate.  Not sure they always enjoy that, but it’s working and no one has gotten into a fight or pulled a knife on anyone yet.  (Although I did have a contractor hint that if something fell off the roof and hit the other trade he couldn’t be responsible.)  The other really amazing part has been the generosity of so many:  O’Connell Robertson, Big Red Dog Engineering, Trade Masters Group, A&S Construction, Joe Bland Construction and many others.  They have given so much and have brought in other companies to also donate.  I feel that everyone involved in this project, those that have donated and those we paid, have gone above and beyond in working to make the project complete on time and with a quality that will serve us well for generations.

So, we are very close to completion.  If we don’t run into too many more oops situations, we should move on or about March 1. We have used every penny that has been donated and I am doing my best to have faith that more donations will come in so that we can purchase furniture, window blinds, agility equipment and some end-of -project requirements that, at this point, are not funded.

Come join us at our Grand Opening Gala March 23.  The event will be at our new home and will include food, drink, live music, a magician, silent auction and a slide show that will show photos of our property from day one through to completion.  It’s an adults-only, hire-a-sitter-and-get-dressed-up cocktail party.  Tickets available online.

Very sincerely, your little bit crazy executive director who is 30 days or less from having a CO (Certificate of Occupancy) and having her dream come true.

Debi Krakar

Next Steps – We had our final review meeting with the City of Cedar Park this week. Looks like we will have permits in about 3 weeks. The City has been extremely responsive through this entire process. Demolition and brush clearing will start shortly after groundbreaking on September 13th at 6 PM. Our Board of Directors, major donors, Youth Association and therapy dogs will lead the groundbreaking ceremony. We will have a reception afterwards to show off our new video and answer any questions you may have about our building plans. It should be fun, come join us at the site of our Forever Home, 1321 West New Hope Drive, Cedar Park, Texas.

Fundraising – Best guess is that we have about 72% of the costs of the project covered – through cash donations, loans and in-kind commitments. I say best guess because as detailed bids come in, we will see some adjustments of costs estimates. We have taken a leap of faith that our supporters – you – will help us reach the 100% level. The backup plan is to build in stages.

Thank Yous – As we proceed down this path of building a campus that will provide dog-related job skills training for at-risk young adults, an oasis for folks with autism and other special needs, a training location for puppies and therapy dogs, a place for children to come and grow and learn and a place for the seniors in our community to volunteer and engage, we are very grateful to all that are supporting us. Everyday I am thankful to everyone that is helping and donating and supporting our efforts. So many people are passionate about this project and giving so much of themselves to make it happen. The news is always filled with stories of crime and hatred. It’s refreshing to be involved in something that is all about folks coming together to help those less fortunate.

Sincerely,

Debi Krakar
Founder and Executive Director
Austin Dog Alliance

Our Forever Home project is moving at a rapid pace now that we are less than a month from closing.  The most significant event of the past month has been securing financing through Frost Bank. They are an absolute joy to do business with.  A land/construction loan to a young non-profit is not easy or common.  They have walked us through each step and have been extremely receptive to setting up a note that we can handle both during the construction phase and long term.  I suspect I will sound like a commercial, but “they listen”.  We are scheduled to close August 30.

Riley ready for Groundbreaking

contacted has been extremely supportive and generous.  We have received donations for many aspects of the project – landscaping materials, floor tiles, excavation, construction management, lighting, datacom, audio/visual equipment, blue print printing, electrical work, labor for tile installation, and many more.  This is a project being built by average families and businesses in our community, for our community.  I feel honored to be a part of it.

If you want to be a part of this inspiring project, we need cash donations for those items that cannot be donated by businesses (closing fees, surveys, environmental impact studies, permit fees, water connection fees, down payment on the land, etc.), and the following:

Greetings:

Did you know that young adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are less likely to find work than almost any other disability group? In fact, a 2009 study* of children who had received special education services found that only 32.5% of young adults with ASD were working for pay. Only one other disability group had a lower rate of employment.

According to the Center for Disease Control, ASD affects 1 in every 88 children in the United States. That means many thousands of children and adults may never be able to support themselves and could depend on their families and government services for the rest of their lives.

The Austin Dog Alliance is working to change that for the special-needs young adults in our area.

Over the last couple of years, we have heard over and over again from parents of our K9 Club-Autism program students how our program has given them hope that their child might be able to find employment in a dog-related field. As a natural progression, we are working toward a job skill program for our students with ASD.  Our new Forever Home will have a job skills lab that will allow us to teach students skills needed for careers as groomers, kennel assistants, veterinarian technician assistants and dog trainers. Our plans also include training special-needs young adults to work in our retail store and working with Leander ISD as a job training site for students in their special-education department.

Cassie Russell, a young women with high functioning autism, is one of our success stories and an inspiration for expanding our social skill program into a social and job skills program for students age 17 – 25.  Cassie started working with us as part of the Leander ISD’s job sampling program.  Since Cassie loves dogs and we always have an abundance of dogs in our facility, Cassie fit right in.  Eventually, she joined our K9 Club-Autism program where she further developed her ability to work with dogs.

When Cassie aged out of our program, we reached out to Dr. Raymond Bouloy, the very generous and kind hearted veterinarian/owner of Cypress Creek Pet Care.  He agreed to have Cassie join his office under a work study program sponsored by the local college.  Fast forward two years to the Fall of 2012 when Cassie will have a paid position with Cypress Creek Pet Care.  We are very proud of Cassie and honored to have been part of a community that has come together to make a difference in a young life.

We are so excited about offering job skills programming that Austin Dog Alliance is developing a pilot job skills development class at the Texas School for the Deaf. This program is being funded by the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) and is an extension of the curriculum we have been providing for our older group of K9 Club-Autism students. Big thank you to our Program Director, Carolyn Honish for leading this effort.

Sincerely,

Debi Krakar

Founder and Executive Director

Austin Dog Alliance

* National Autism Resource and Information Center