Canines With a Cause is a nonprofit that uses veterans to train shelter dogs into service dogs for other veterans.
"We work with Pet Network Humane Society in Incline Village and take shelter dogs and bring them down to the Warm Springs Correctional Facility," said Rachel Dickinson with Canines With a Cause Reno. "That's where we have a team of incarcerated veterans that train the dogs to do basic skills, even some advanced ones, and then we pair them with veterans in need of service dogs, veterans suffering from PTSD."
The training continues after the dogs are paired with new owners, all at no cost to the veterans.
"We start in the classroom and then we start venturing out to local businesses and things like that under the guidance of a trainer," Dickinson said.  "And people seem to like it and appreciate that we're doing it in a controlled manner and really taking our time with the training. We've gotten a really great response from the community."
The training continues until the dogs reach service dog status, which can take several years.
"Our training program, we're very careful with it because we don't want to add to the problem of fake service dogs or service dogs that aren't properly trained out in the community," Dickinson said. "We want to make sure they're trained properly and that can take a few years."
They've placed nearly a dozen dogs in the past year and hope to continue to grow the program. That's why fundraisers - like Saturday's planned bingo fundraiser at the American Legion - are a big help.
"Because we are a nonprofit we really rely on this stuff to keep our program going and help the dogs and our clients, so it's a big deal for us," Dickinson said.
She says the decision to cancel the event amid current coronavirus concerns was the smartest and safest option, especially considering the local veteran population. The hope is to reschedule at a later date.
For more information, visit:Â https://canineswithacause.org/
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