Service dog trainer, Jessie Harper, and service dog, SIna. (Submitted photo/Jessie Harper)

By Angie Rolheiser

Certified for service

Shelter dog becomes service dog while local woman gets service dog training certification

Aug 27, 2021 | 4:00 PM

A shelter dog at the North East SPCA has turned into a service dog and a local dog obedience trainer can now train other dogs to do the same.

Jessie Harper from Nipawin teamed up with shepherdX Sina from the Harry and Eve Vickar Shelter in Melfort to become a certified service dog trainer while Sina became a service dog herself.

“Rescue dogs are not ruined, they just need to be loved and some need a purpose in life and I believe that Sina needed a purpose,” Harper said.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Harper was approached by Blake Emmons with the Wounded Warriors Weekend Foundation to become a service dog trainer. The idea was to bring in a trainer from United States to certify Harper, but that was put on hold when public health restrictions came into play.

Fast forward to August 2021, and the idea finally came to fruition.

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Kevin Cameron from California was brought into camp independence north of Nipawin to do training. Cameron specializes in canine behaviour and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) service dog training.

Kevin Cameron and Sina at service dog training. (Submitted photo/Jessie Harper)

To begin training with Cameron, Harper needed a dog that was suitable for service dog training.

A call to the NESPCA Harry and Eve Vickar Shelter led Harper to Sina.

“The first day was for her to chill and get used to being put in a kennel which she did just fine,” Harper said. “The next morning, we started training and, by that Thursday, I was a certified trainer and Sina was a service dog.”

Upon completion of training, Sina was transported to Ontario that Sunday.

“There was a service woman who had planned to fly to Texas to get a service dog so Sina actually went to her,” Harper said. “Sina spent a few days training with her new owner because you don’t just train the dog, you have to train the owner too.”

According to Harper, Sina and her new owner have been together in Ottawa for the past two weeks and things are going well.

(Submitted photo/Jessie Harper)

As Harper continues her journey as a service dog trainer, she plans to work with the local SPCA’s to find dogs to train.

“I want to do a lot with the Wounded Warriors with veterans, but I also will train other dogs and owned dogs,” Harper said. “A lot of people think that they need to get new dogs when they are looking for service dogs but that is not always true.”

She said she also wants to help with fundraising for service dogs for the Wounded Warriors organization. The Wounded Warriors raise funds for service dogs and paid the adoption fees for Sina.

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angie.rolheiser@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser