My interests can be divided into four main parts:
1. My husband, Shaun
2. Dogs
3. Reading
4. Dogs
That's right, dogs are on there twice because they are such a huge part of my life. My husband and I voluntarily train service dogs for people with disabilities through an organization called Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). CCI provides highly trained assistance dogs at no charge for qualified individuals. It takes a year and a half for us to raise a puppy, we then send him or her to California for up to 6 months for professional training and evaluation. Within this 6 months, they can get released from the program at any time. In fact, only about 30% of the dogs make it all the way through. If they do get this far, they are then matched up with their new person, helping them out in various ways. For some people, the dogs pull their wheelchairs, turn on and off light switches, pick up hard to reach items from the floor or grocery store shelves, and help them do their laundry. For others, the dog hears the phone ring, the doorbell go off, or the fire alarm and they alert their handler. While the dogs do lots of physical and important tasks, they are also a huge emotional support that could never be quantified or fully explained.
Our current dog, Cheri, is a Black Lab/Golden Retriever cross. She is the fifth dog that I've trained and my husband's second. She loves to swim, hike, and be active. She goes to California in November (and yes, we will be really upset-but it's definitely worth it).
Another aspect of dogs that is semi-related to CCI is that I have been teaching dog agility and obedience classes for about four years. Recently, a group of us got together and created a Cache Valley dog agility club called Zoomdog Agility and Sports Club. Creating a club, and doing it right, takes a TON of work and has been very time consuming. This weekend we have a huge dog event coming up, called the PoochPalooza-we're hoping for a great turn out as it is our first event and we want to set a strong tone for the years to come.
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| Shaun and Cheri doing agility |
Besides dogs, I love to read-what kind of english major would I be if I didn't love books? My favorite genre is definitely young adult fiction. I also love classics and am currently taking a Charles Dickens class here on campus. It's going to be tough, but I'm looking forward to reading and better understanding one of the greatest authors in history.
This love of books, and the joy I find in teaching (learned from teaching dog classes), has inspired me to become a teacher. Although, to be completely honest, I'm also looking forward to weekends, holidays, most evenings, and the summer off! I have quite the story behind how I finally chose this degree, but for now, we'll say that it was a long road, but I am so happy that I've found what I enjoy.
The last thing you should know is that I'm an English major who is terrible at grammar. I rarely even spell grammar correctly-typically my hand written versions consist of 'grammer' and the only reason I write it correctly on a computer is because of that ever present, annoying yet beneficial, red, squiggly underline. My husband, who is currently doing his masters in Accounting, is much better at grammar than I am, and so he frequently proofs my work. However, with practice, I am determined to become better!
I look forward to this course because every class I take is one step closer I am to becoming an effective educator.
