With the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, I felt the need to do a bit of reflection. I figured it would be a great way to fill everybody in on what has been happening and of course, to thank all my family, friends and clients for your support over this past year. This has been a HUGE year for me with many ups and some downs but such is life, you cannot have one without the other. When I reflect on 2015, the events and highlights I felt I should mention in this blog, my head began to spin. A LOT HAS HAPPENED.
My life has always been fast paced. People continuously express that they do not know how I do everything that I do. My response is always the same…
“I love what I do, and I have a great support network of family and friends”
That makes all the difference!!! I feel so fortunate to have the family and friends I do be they of the two, three or four legged variety.
So here is 2015 in a nutshell.
The first big event that sticks out in my mind with 2015 was the search for Avalanche. This was an event that shook the dog community in this province up. It is also an event that is still ongoing. I am not going to get into the legal details of the same or the morality of what happened as it is going to court soon and there are actual sites devoted to that discussion.
What I did want to mention is the amount of help which came from For the Love of Dogs. This group is one I am made continuously proud of. You will see that I mention it a number of times in this blog. The benefits which come from the group the good work that happens from having a group of like minded dog lovers which can band together is phenomenal. Such was the case with this search, Every weekend from the first day that Avalanche went missing, the group organized group dog walks in CBS. Rain, sleet, snow, hail, we were out there. Not only through the organized walks on the weekends, but many group members spent many individual hours during the week out searching. It was a massive effort. The group members spent tens of hours individually and hundreds of hours combined trying to find this dog. You are all amazing.
In 2015, For the Love of Dogs said good bye to Janine and Cynthia who I sincerely thank for all their help over the previous years. Sarita, Pam and Lesley joined myself and Heather as admins for the group and I could not be happier. We met in March and the ladies immediately dug in. For the Love of Dogs is huge, it has a very active wall and the walks happen every weekend. One of the reasons things function so smoothly is the work of the admins. From vetting posts, to keeping track of the debates, to planning and organizing the walks and so much more…these ladies work tirelessly. Again, I thank them for it and appreciate the help so much.
my admins and me at the Pet Expo…crack up at Leo’s expression…there was a smaller dog wanted to jump in on the pic and Leo was very interested in him. Love these ladies..thank you so much for all the work you do.
In April I convocated with my Master’s degree in Social Work. This was a long road. It was a huge amount of work and a tremendous achievement. What does social work have to do wtih dog training you may ask? I encourage you to do some research into what a social worker actually does, their educational background and knowledge. Social workers are some of the most knowledgable professionals particularly when it comes to psychology. When one discusses such topics as classical and operant conditioning, learning theory, applied behavioral analysis…this is where social workers thrive. All of these theoretical frameworks form the basis of any good dog training program. My BA, my BSW and my MSW are serving me well in my dog career.
Next was the Pet Expo. 2015 was the second year I entered a double booth into the Pet Expo. I am proud of the showing we had. At one point during the expo, I climbed the stairs, looked out over the crowd and saw a sea of red shirts, hoodies and bandanas. It was truly amazing to see. We did a “Walk of Dogs” and had over 40 dogs come into the ring. I told a couple of their stories and we gave some hope to some people having trouble with their dogs.
At the Pet Expo with the cutest, most helpful (and most talkative assistant) ever. Thanks Noelle for all you help
Every now and again an issue pops up and I get asked to step in. Getting involved with the CBS 7 was one example, assessing Vegas and Zeus was another, addressing Paradise’s pitbull ban was another. 2015 brought me into contact with Diesel. This poor dog had a really sad unfortunate story. This was one of those situations where it did not matter what decision I recommended be made, the backlash was going to be big. The various media outlets had a field day with this one. I did a couple of hours on “Backtalk” accepting calls from across the province and the conversation was…interesting. At the end of the day, I was faced with a very difficult decision. The one I made was based on the police reports, the interviews, the information I could gather and the assessments. It was unfortunate outcome but the publicity received did have a some positives…it brought the issue of “responsible pet ownership” into the forefront again. Maybe one of these days, it will finally sink in.
Speaking of media appearances, 2015 saw me in front of a number of media outlets. I appeared on Backtalk a number of times, and was interviewed by a variety of reporters from VOCM and CBC radio. I made it to NTV and CBC, the Telegram and had a number of segments called “The Newfoundland Dog Whisperer Series” for Rogers Television. It was fun to do, allowed me a chance to discuss responsible pet ownership, and reach out to segements of the population who otherwise may not have been reached.
This summer I was pleased to travel to Gander for the Ride for Sight and did a training weekend there. I managed to complete 7 one on ones in Gander, attended the Gander Pooch Patrol Walks and met some great people. Thank you to Rexene for setting up the one on ones…the response she got was tremendous and I was sorry I could not fit everybody in. In the same vein... in November I went to Marystown for a similar training weekend. There was a tremendous response when Meghan spread the word. I was able to again do 7 one on ones and again met some great people. Once more, thanks Meghan. I hope to offer similar weekends in the future across the province.
Sitting in on the first volunteer meeting for Furever Young. This is a new(er) rescue started up by Kelsey (who is also an assistant trainer and an awesome friend). It is a great rescue and one I am happy to help anyway I can. Over the last year, the group donated $2000 to Furever Young, has been involved with all their walks and has helped in the adoption of a number of their dogs.
This summer was a fast and frantic one. So many one on ones happened, so many new dogs came into the picture. My partnership with the SPCA grew. The Therapy Dog Program had testings in St. John’s, Clarenville, and Gander. Furever Young grew larger, I attended the first official Volunteer Meeting and completed a number of assessments and one on ones for them. It was a crazy summer but I was very happy meeting all of the people I did, becoming involved with so many dogs and watching the numbers in the group rise. Speaking of numbers rising, as the summer came to a close, the For the Love of Dogs group hit the 6000 mark. What many do not realize is that the 6000 members of the group are mainly from Newfoundland. We are picky who gets into the group and only accept those members who really have reasons for being there. The group would be 4x the size if we accepted everybody. It is pretty impressive. We have one of the largest animal groups in the province..
With the close of the summer I chose to open a new chapter in my dog training career. For the last seven years I had taught at Topsailstar Pet Center. It was a decent fit and I am happy with the work I did there. However, I wanted to expand, diversify and teach things differently. In October I began Ken Reid Newfoundland Dog Whisperer’s Dog Training Program. It is force free training using positive reinforcement techniques based in evidence based practice. I am pretty pleased with the way things have been going.
first night full house
I asked 13 people to come on board as assistant trainers and began a new partnership with A Dog’s World Inc. I have known Jodi and Jess for a while. Both girls have been through training, Jodi interned under me when she became a certified trainer...it was a great fit. Lesley, Lacey, Susan, Chelsea, Jackie, Pam, Kelsey, Dwayne, Sarita, Heather, Heidi, Mellissa and Kylene all agreed to come on board. A better training team does no exist. I am happy to report that the demand for classes has never been larger with 39 students graduating from the first class. We currently have 34 students in the second level one course who are half way through the program, 9 in the level 2 program and 20 plus already registered for the new level one course starting February 9th. We are establishing the most comprehensive quality dog training program in the province. Nobody else offers what we do. The future is promising. Course offerings will expand further in 2016 and I am excited for the prospects.
One group from the first graduating class…could not be prouder
Most of the training team out to Christmas Thank You supper. These ladies (and gentleman) are amazing. I could not offer the quality program we are doing without your help and assistance. Missing from the photo are Kelsey and Dwayne
I have mentioned more formalized partnerships with a number of the rescues. Heading into 2016 we had the first staff member from the SPCA and her dog finish training with the program. We have the second staff member and their dog going through the program, we have a foster parent and their foster dog currently enrolled and a adoptive home and their two dogs with Furever Young also completing. I am pleased to offer this service to these rescues and hope to offer it to other rescues in the future. It is a great way to get staff and long time volunteers better trained and allow the dogs to become more adoptable. I always dreamed about being able to offer this service to the rescues for free and am now able to do so. It is just another way to give back and help increase the quality of life to our furry friends who are looking for their furever homes.
Brittany and Chloe are the first graduates of the partnership between my dog training program and the SPCA. Brittany is kennel manager. She is doing some great work wth the shelter dogs. The knowledge she gained from this dourse will help her out in her day to day work at the shelter. I look forward to many more of these stories.
This Fall I also said good bye to my faithful girl Rigger. Rig had a rough start to life. Her story is fairly well known and she was such an inspiration for so many. My heart broke wide open and there is not a day that has gone by since that I have not thought of her. Christmas was especially hard. Not hearing her snoring or getting her cuddles has been rough. She is very much missed.
RIP my sweet girlie girl. I miss you so much. You helped shape the way a lot of people viewed Pitties. I could not have been more proud of you. Thank you for the brief few years we had. You taught me so much.
This summer I was honored by the SPCA when they asked me to be keynote speaker at ther AGM. I spoke to the Board and members of the public on the work that was happening at the shelter, my work with the assessment and enrichment program and introduced all to three alumni of the shelter to really bring home why that work is so important. It was a great experience and again one I am deeply honored to have been a part of.
This fall, I accepted a position on the St. John’s SPCA Board of Directors further cementing that partnership. I continue to say the St. John’s SPCA is doing some amazing work and is quickly becoming a rescue that can be a blueprint for the way rescues can and should operate. I am proud to be a part of this and to accept an even larger role in it.
Pam’s Rocky raising money for the SPCA at their kissing booth. Rocky was one of a couple of group member dogs that manned/dogged the booth that day in the Park. Very proud of these yahoos. Visitors to the booth got their money’s worth in kisses
This fall also saw a bit of drama break out with some questioning the use of group funding collected on the walks. For those who do not know, at the beginning of every walk I always held open a poop bag. People tossed in a donation (usually a loonie to $5) if they wished to do so and I donated that to various animal charities. It never amounted to a lot of money but over time it could add up and in animal rescue, every dollar helps. I was particularly proud of what the group was accomplishing with this idea. However, like any decent idea, sometimes it draws criticism and in this case, false accusations. It was a rough time with a lot of discussion going on between myself, the admins of the group, the training team and other group members regarding how best to handle the issue. It was disgusting but at the end of the day I choose to retire the poop bag. I took all of the money in the account and donated it to a couple of different charities. Some of the detractors referred to it as “damage control” and only happened as a result of the accusations. What those same people did not realize is those big donations were in the works for months between myself and the heads of various charities. We had planned on doing this all along as a feel good story leading up to Christmas encouraging other groups and businesses to step up and follow suit. But there you have it…couple of bad apples spoiling a good thing. Will the poop bag be brought out of retirement in the future? Perhaps, maybe…I really want to and have been getting requests from group members to do so but the criticism is not something I want to face. So if I do, it will be re-instituted on different terms. In the meantime, I will find other ways for the group to give back.
So hoow much money was donated in 2015...I am happy to report that the group donated over $6000 to various charities in the 2015 year. Be proud guys.
At a GPAC fundraiser in late September. Yes that is a dunk tank. Yes I am in it. Yes it was very very cold but I am a sucker for a great cause
In December I was contacted by St. John Ambulance National Board. They notified me that in 2016 I will be inducted into the Order of St. John. I am very proud of this and really did not expect it. My work with the therapy dog program on the local, provincial and national scene has been a labor of love. I am very honoured for this opportunity.
I am also pleased to report that many of the members of the group became therapy dog handler teams, volunteered to help with the testings, became assistant evaluators and unit coordinators for the program. I continue to say that our members are awesome. This is one shining example of how true that statement is.
Two of our group members to be successful at the latest therapy dog testing.
Visiting the Autism Society with the Therapy Dog Program with Morgan…Lesley and Dakota along with Lacey and Kobi were all there that day for kisses and scratches.
So there you have it..2015 in a nutshell. It was fun to write it all out. I realise I only hit on some of the highlights. I wish I could put every email I recieve with a positive story, every successful update up. They all make me smile. The little triumphs I see on a daily basis from dogs and their owners…the little break throughs that happen in class or out on the walks..they all make me smile.
I am looking forward to what 2016 holds. It will be am amazing year.
Thank you all once again for your support, your friendship and your trust. I really do appreciate it.
See you all very soon.
Ken