Two very good boys have been added to the Zebra Child and Youth Advocacy Centre’s facility dog program.
Moose and Zeppelin joined the team two months ago — each is a lab/golden retriever mix.
“They both have been training to be facility dogs since birth, and they both recently turned two years old,” said Emmy Stuebing, CEO of the Zebra Centre.
“They’ve just been starting with meet and greets, and that’s been going really well.
“These guys were born to do this. They really are a great comfort.”
Facility dogs Zeppelin and Moose at the Zebra Centre.
Nicole Stillger / Global News
Zeppelin came from Edmonton-based Dogs With Wings and Moose was trained with Ontario-based Lions Foundation. They join six-year-old black lab, Captain — who has been at the Zebra Centre for four years.
Their job is to provide comfort and support to kids who come there after experiencing abuse.
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“Sometimes when kiddos come to the Zebra Center, they don’t really want to talk to anybody about what happened to them, but sometimes they’ll talk to a dog,” Stuebing said.
Not every child will want one, but for many, just having the service dog there gives them courage.
“They’re non-judgmental and that instant feeling of security that they bring definitely helps ease the kids when they’re here,” Stephanie Franks said, Child and Youth Supports director at the Zebra Centre.
Facility dogs Moose, Captain and Zeppelin at the Zebra Centre.
Nicole Stillger / Global News
The hope is for Moose and Zeppelin to eventually go to court as well — like Captain — but it’s a job that requires a lot of patience on the dog’s part and can wear them out faster.
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“We want to make sure that they’re being rotated, but it does take some time, as we want to make sure that they’re able to do this for long periods of time,” Franks said.
Since the program launched in 2013 it’s been called VIP – Very Important Paws.
As the new pups were welcomed to the herd Thursday, the Zebra Centre also announced it’s renaming the facility dog program to The Buddy Dog program.
It’s in honour of one of the centre’s biggest supporters — Buddy Victor — who passed away in 2023 at 92 years old.
For now, the pups are settling into their new jobs.
“They have good sense of humour in a way that they just are a bunch of jokesters, but they know when to be sensitive,” Frank said.
“When their vest goes on, it’s time to work.”
“They’re both looking really promising everyone’s so excited to have these guys,” Stuebing added.
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