“When our highly energetic two-year old Labrador Retriever Coal was a puppy we began teaching him some basic training commands. When we realized that we were going to need some help with the training we were fortunate to find Susan and the Shadowlee Canine team.  After a few home visits, we saw tremendous progress and a positive change in Coal’s behavior.  At our final training session, Susan asked if we had an interest in enrolling Coal in her Therapy Dog Certification Program, as she believed that he had the disposition to do the job.  Her assessment was spot on.

The Shadowlee Canine Therapy Dog Certification Program teaches the pet and owner to work as a cohesive unit by exposing them to potential scenarios they can encounter when visiting institutions.  During the training the dog and owner, learn to handle each situation and become a team, thus increasing the bond between pet and owner

For the past year, we have been involved with the kindergarten-reading program at one of the local elementary schools.  Each week kids come in and read their books to the dogs. With each visit, we have seen progress by the kids. We truly believe that the dogs help make a difference with building their confidence and reading skills.  Susan and the teachers do an amazing job with the program and the kids love it.  We use the skills that we learned during the certification program and each visit reinforces these behaviors for Coal. For us there is personal satisfaction in helping to lay the foundation for one of the key qualities in the educational process for these young learners. 

Shadowlee Canine is a great organization that we are happy to have gotten to know and work with.   Susan and Jill are dedicated and experienced dog trainers and owners.  Their commitment to the training and bringing out the positive qualities in each dog that goes through the certification process is a wonderful experience for everyone involved in this program.”

Tom and Karen F., Volunteers