(submitted photo/Gateway Victim Services)

By Nicole Reis

Support Service Animal

Quinn the service dog settling into his new home

Dec 17, 2019 | 1:17 PM

Quinn the support dog is settling in nicely to one of his on-the-road homes at Gateway Victim Services in Meadow Lake. The dog is based in Prince Albert but makes visits to Meadow Lake.

Jillian Doucet is the facility dog handler at Gateway and she has cared for the golden retriever-yellow lab mix since he arrived in September.

“He is able to provide support for people who are giving interviews to police, while testifying in court or following a traumatic event,” Doucet told meadowlakeNOW.

The need for a support animal was expressed to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) after the tragedy involving the Humboldt Broncos demonstrated the importance of having a variety of supports available.

“The emphasis is on individuals who are most vulnerable, for example: child abuse victims, domestic violence victims, sexual assault victims, seniors who are victims of illegal home entry,” Suann Laurent, chief operating officer for the SHA, said in a press release.

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“Everybody is excited to have him and he’s done a few things work wise. The program is still new. We imagine we’ll be a lot busier in the future but he’s done a lot of support so far,” Doucet added.

Doucet went on to say in order to receive animal support services, a referral is typically done through the RCMP though clients don’t necessarily have to be entwined in a court matter.

“Some people do self-refer because some people are going through incidents but they don’t necessarily want to refer it to police. We’ve had people contact us for support if they’ve been assaulted or sexually assaulted but not necessarily report it or ready to go through the court process,” she added.

(submitted photo/Gateway Victim Services)

Quinn is now almost three years old and has gone through an intensive two-year training with Dogs with Wings Assistance Dog Society before graduating as a support animal.

“Quinn is our first placement outside of Alberta so he was kind of a big deal for us because the rest of our facility dogs in our other four programs are in Alberta only,” Emily Hendsbee, a client services coordinator with Dogs with Wings, said.

Hendsbee said dogs begin training three days after birth and are exposed to different sounds, smells, and feelings. The dogs eventually become used to working through stress so they are able to work in a support-based career.

Gateway Victim Services is a police-based program covering RCMP detachment areas in Big River, Blaine Lake, Green Lake, Loon Lake, Meadow Lake, Pierceland, Prince Albert, Rosthern, Shellbrook, Spiritwood and Wakaw which includes 17 Cree/First Nations.

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nicole.reis@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @nicolereis7722