"THE INTERVIEW": JEANINE KONOPELSKI OF CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE!

This picture says it all...

_____

Hello, All: This marks the return of "THE INTERVIEW" after a lengthy absence. Jeanine Konopelski has really communicated the labor of Love that this wonderful organization is involved with and I hope that you will enjoy reading what they do. With a wink ;-) and a nod, thanks for stopping by!

--Michael

_____

Jeanine Konopelski is the National Director of Marketing Communications with Canine Companions for Independence and she is my Guest today on "THE INTERVIEW".

_____

MM: JEANINE, WELCOME TO "THE INTERVIEW". STRAIGHT OFF THE BAT, HOW DID CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE GET ITS START?

_____

JK: Canine Companions was founded in 1975 with a vision of cultivating the abilities of dogs and pairing the professionally trained dog with an adult or child with disabilities in a way that maximizes the human animal bond and improves an individual’s quality of life by increasing independence.

MM: WHAT IS YOUR MISSION EXACTLY?

_____

JK: Canine Companions for Independence is a non-profit organization that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships. Basically, we breed, raise and train assistance dogs that grow to be the ears, hands and legs of their human partners. We teach our graduates how to properly handle and care for their assistance dogs. We keep in touch with our graduates through phone calls, emails, home visits and regular training workshops that ensure the human animal team is healthy and successful.

__

MM: MY LATE FATHER HAD PARKINSON'S DISEASE, AND I KNOW THAT THERE ARE PROGRAMS WHERE LABRADORS ARE TYPICALLY USED TO HELP A PARKINSONIAN WHEN THEY EXPERIENCE A "FREEZE" EPISODE, THAT IS, WHERE THE PATIENT CAN'T MOVE THEIR FOOT. AND THE DOG IS TRAINED TO PLACE IT'S PAW ON THE PATENT'S FOOT. THAT SEEMS TO CAUSE THE PATIENT TO RESUME. ARE YOU INVOLVED WITH PARKINSON'S PATIENTS?

__

JK: We serve clients with a wide range of challenges including Parkinson’s. Since our goal is to ensure the recipient of the dog experiences increased independence we have a comprehensive application process and evaluate each applicant individually. We try to focus more on each individual’s needs verses the needs of people challenged with a particular disability. This is also why we train four types of assistance dogs. Service Dogs for adults with physical disabilities, skilled companions for children and adults with physical and/or cognitive disabilities who require full time care, hearing dogs for adults who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and facility dogs who work with professional who serve clients with disabilities.

_____

MM: ARE LABRADORS THE BREED OF CHOICE OR DO YOU USE DIFFERENT BREEDS?

____

JK: At Canine Companions we breed golden and Labrador retrievers, or a cross of the two. We have found they have the most suitable temperament for working.

_____

MM: HOW DOES SOMEONE WHO COULD USE YOUR SERVICES USUALLY COME TO YOUR ATTENTION?

____

JK: We currently have over 3000 volunteers and 1300 graduate teams nationwide who are incredible ambassadors. They enthusiastically participate in information fairs and various educational events and presentations that help spread the word about assistance dogs for people with disabilities other than visual impairment, and Canine Companions for Independence. Applicants generally hear about us through our graduates, volunteers and website.

_____

MM: ARE THERE COSTS TO THE FAMILY OR PATIENT FOR YOUR SERVICES?

____

JK: No! It takes over two years and thousands of hours of hard work to produce one graduate team. Even with volunteer help, our investment in each dog is more than $45,000. We rely completely on private donations.

One of our recent Graduates said, “It’s like I received a box full of love, and the box was free.”

____

MM: THE ASPCA IS ALSO AMONG A HANDFUL OF NEEDY ORGANIZATIONS I CHOOSE TO SUPPORT. HAS THERE BEEN AN INSTANCE WHERE THE TWO AGENCIES HAVE WORKED TOGETHER?

_____

JK: We may have worked together in the past; but currently we do not have an active partnership, though we certainly support their mission. As an organization we are committed to building community relationships. For instance we work with a number of prisons across the country on Prison Puppy Raising Programs. Also, our Five Regional Centers across the country work with community organizations local to their area. For instance our Northwest Region in Santa Rosa, CA puts on an event with an organization assisting adults with developmental disabilities every year to display and sell their clients original artwork.

_____

MM: COULD YOU SHARE WITH MY READERS A SUCCESS STORY SO WE CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT SERVICES YOU PROVIDE?

_____

JK: One story that comes to mind is seven-year-old TJ, challenged with autism, his mom Nancy and their CCI Skilled Companion Kermit.

Nancy researched the benefits of an assistance dog and was sure that TJ would benefit from an assistance dog, but as a single mom in New York City she was unsure how to make an assistance dog for TJ a reality.

Then she found Canine Companions for Independence, and they were paired with Kermit.

In less than a year as a Graduate Team, TJ has progressed from being almost completely non-verbal to stringing up to three words together in order to feed and fetch with Kermit.

Nancy shares, “Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would happen so quickly.”

_____

MM: HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED, JEANINE?

_____

JK: I’ve always been a dog lover, and I knew I wanted to work for an organization that made a difference. Canine Companions does just that, by providing these smart and dedicated trained dogs to people in need. The human-animal bond is an amazing thing, and I’m proud to be associated with an organization that helps people through the work of these exceptional dogs.

_____

MM: WHAT GOALS SO YOU HAVE FOR 2008?

_____

JK: Our primary goal for 2008 and really every year is to give more people the independence experienced with an assistance dog.

_____

MM: IF ANYONE WANTS TO VOLUNTEER, HOW CAN THEY BECOME INVOLVED AND WHAT ARE YOUR NEEDS?

_____

JK: They should visit our website at cci.org and contact the regional center closest to them. Even if the Regional Training Center location is not convenient for them we have a network of volunteer chapters that the Regional Centers can direct them to.

_____

MM: JEANINE, ON "THE INTERVIEW", I ALWAYS RESERVE OUR FINAL QUESTION FOR MY GUEST AS AN "OPEN FLOOR" QUESTION. PLEASE SUMMARIZE WITH ANY POINTS YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE.

_____

JK: Canine Companions for Independence is a national organization founded in 1975 that breeds, raises, trains and places assistance dogs for people with physical disabilities.We rely on volunteer and private donor support in order to provide highly trained assistance dogs and follow-up services completely free of charge. We invite anyone interested to visit our website cci.org or call 1-800-572-BARK to learn more.

_____

MM: JEANINE, YOU CAME THROUGH DURING THE BUSIEST TIME OF THE YEAR AND I THANK YOU FOR BEING SO GRACIOUS WITH YOUR TIME. I KNOW IN MY HEART THAT SOMEONE READING THIS WILL BE TOUCHED AND HELPED BY THE PHENOMENALLY HARD WORK YOU DO. THANK YOU FOR SPENDING TIME WITH ME TODAY!