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Bath animal foundation gets award
BY CYNTHIA B. COLEMAN • STAFF WRITER
 | | The eight dogs, owners and handlers who participated in the AKC Canine Good Citizen program at the Hot Springs Fire Department Saturday, Oct. 27, stand and sit for their group photo. Pictured (l-r) are: Pat Persinger, AKC evaluator and judge; Phillip William with Austin, owned by Marion Kober; Ellen Ford with Buddy; Debby Williams with Lucky; Maggie Perdue with Sadie; Jessica Stephenson with Tabasco; Pat Brooks with Stella; Jean von Schilling with Daisy; and Marion Kober, with Heidi. |
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HOT SPRINGS - Saturday, Oct. 27 at the Hot Springs Fire House, eight dogs completed a special program. For six weeks, the dogs and their owners worked to prepare for the American Kennel Club's "Canine Good Citizen Program."
In 1989, the AKC began this program as a way to reward dogs for their behavior in their homes and communities. The program teaches owners how to become responsible dog owners while also training dogs in the basics of good manners.
The 10-step program is open for pure and mixed breeds. It trains the dogs to accept a friendly stranger, sit politely for petting, permitting grooming, walking on a loose leash, walking through a crowd, trained to sit, lie down and stay, come when called, properly react to another dog and to distractions, and demonstrate good behavior when left with a trusted person.
This program was sponsored by the Bath Animal Welfare Foundation of Warm Springs, founded in 2001 for the welfare of homeless and abandoned animals. BAWF helps find homes for abandoned animals, shares the cost of spaying and neutering of these animals, and provides care for ill or injured abandoned animals. The foundation also sponsors manners classes and obedience training.
For this session of the AKC Good Citizen program, dogs and owners came from Bath and Alleghany counties every Saturday morning for six weeks. Susan Tucker, of Lexington, instructed them.
Tucker breeds Great Pyreneeses - large white dogs weighing 130 pounds or more. She brought her champion, Bowyer, to use during one of the 10 tests on how to properly react to another dog. Bowyer was the "other" dog the student dogs had to test with.
"Susan had Bowyer in his portable crate," said Jean von Schilling, BAWF president, "and one by one, each dog and its owner would come into the room for the test. Susan would unzip the crate, snap on Bowyer's leash and the dogs and owners would have to walk by him in a friendly manner, stopping to say hello, and then walk on."
Von Schilling smiled as she recalled how regal and majestic Bowyer looked as the dogs walked into the room. Yet none were intimidated by Bowyer's size or daunting appearance as they all passed this lesson.
Pat Persinger, an AKC evaluator, administered the test during the last and seventh session. Of the eight dogs that participated and passed, five were "throw-away" dogs, given a second chance by their owners, proving they were good dogs even after abandonment and neglect.
The AKC Good Citizen program was open to all dogs at a minimal charge, but free for shelter or rescue dogs, and any BAWF adopted dogs. The AKC's Canine Good Citizen Program is an annual event for BAWF, though the foundation is working on a program for members of Bath County's 4-H program.
BAWF also offered a basic manners and behavior class an hour before the AKC class, open to all dogs.
For more information on BAWF contact them at (540) 839- 2633 or bwf@tds.net. BAWF also has a web site at www.bawf.org.
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