ELDRED — Excitement filled the air Friday morning inside the Otto-Eldred Elementary cafeteria as students in the 5th and 6th grades prepared to meet “McGinnis” and “Ernie,” two service dogs from Tails of Valor, Paws of Honor Program. The students have been studying service dogs and discovered that their very own principal’s cousin had a service dog named in honor of him for his incredible gallantry.
The students, as part of their reading class, read many articles about service/working dogs to learn about jobs and services that the dogs perform. The reading unit was focused around Mike Ritland’s book, “Navy Seal Dogs” as well as “Paws of Courage” by Nancy Furstinger. The students did text dependent analysis essays and researched the various types of service/working dogs and created their own infographics to share their knowledge.
Principal Ryan McGinnis explained that his wife, Lisa, happened upon a Facebook post that a friend shared about the Tails of Valor program located in Coopersburg, Pa. The program names their service dogs after fallen war heroes. The post recognized principal McGinnis’s late cousin, SPC. Ross McGinnis, who gave the ultimate sacrifice at the young age of nineteen.
The young soldier McGinnis was a member of the U.S. 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. He was deployed to eastern Baghdad and he was serving as a .50 caliber machine-gunner in a HMMWV during operations against insurgents in Adhamiyah. On Dec. 4th, 2006, while his platoon was on mounted patrol, a grenade was thrown into his vehicle. He shouted to warn the other four men in the vehicle, so they could prepare for the blast. Instead of jumping out of the gunner’s hatch, McGinnis threw his back over the grenade, absorbing the bulk of the blast. He was killed instantly, but the other occupants were able to survive with only minor injuries.
After viewing the post, principal McGinnis couldn’t wait to show the 5th grade teachers the Tails of Valor website. “I gave the information to Stefanie Wolfe in hopes she and the kids could reach out to them and ask questions in part of their research of service dogs,” the principal said. “I was so surprised when the representatives from the Tails of Valor responded and said they would love to answer all their children’s questions, but wanted to do it in person. We are so happy and honored to have them here.”
Heather Lloyd, founder and executive chairperson of the Tails of Valor, Paws of Honor, along with three representatives and two well-trained service dogs made a six-hour trip, and spent the night in a hotel, all so they could share what they are about.
She welcomed the students and introduced the guests of honor “McGinnis” and “Ernie.” Lloyd talked about their program’s mission to provide non-medicinal rehabilitation therapies to improve a veteran’s quality of life. They also provide a Canine Connection training program that provides social interaction and human/canine bonding resulting in service dogs able to assist with the physical and psychological issues affecting veterans and their families.
The dogs they use for their program are mostly rescue dogs. They are all named in honor of veterans who lost their lives during or after wars. The dogs are acquired at 8 to 12 weeks of age, which is considered the “sponge” age, and will go through over 2,000 hours of training before they are ready to be paired with a veteran. The dogs learn basic commands and go through a desensitization process which allows them to do their jobs in public places without being distracted. At about 6 to 10 months of age the dogs are trained to do more complicated tasks such as stand and brace for helping a veteran with disabilities or helping someone wake from a nightmare caused from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Students were reminded the three basic things not to do with a service dog. First they should never touch a service dog without asking permission, because the dog is working and touching them is a distraction. Two, you should never give a service dog human food. They need to be able to perform in restaurants and other public places so they can never be introduced to human food. Lastly, you cannot sleep with a service dog. They are all trained to have a “place” to sleep.
After the presentation, students were then given a chance to meet and touch the service dogs. The dogs sat tentatively until they were given a command that lets them know they could interact with the children. From there the trainers walked the dogs up and down the aisles of children to let them pet the dogs.
An honorary slide show which featured pictures of SPC. Ross McGinnis throughout his life and pictures of “McGinnis” the mixed lab service dog were shown next. This was a rather emotional time for all in the room as they took a moment to remember a fallen soldier. Students were then asked to hit the deck and perform 22 push-ups in honor of the 22 veterans we lose each day to suicide. Students, teachers, the principal and the representatives all got down giving their best 22 they could give.
The representatives took part in a question and answer session with the students. One student asked who put in the name request for “McGinnis” and Lloyd explained it was one of this battalion team members.
Several questions were asked about the dogs and their training. The Tails of Valor, Paws of Honor program relies on many volunteers. Puppy raisers provide a home for the dog. They drop them off every day to the program for training and attended a training session once a week. The puppy raiser reinforces all the commands that the dog is learning and helps with the socialization of the puppy. There are also puppy sitters in the program that provide temporary or intermediate care as required when the puppy sitter needs to be away. Many veterans in the Coopersburg area are involved in their Canine Connection which allows them to help train the puppies and in turn helps them learn coping skills to improve their lives.
Lloyd expressed that her ultimate goal is to expand on their current programs and build a health and wellness facility. In fact, that vision looks like it will soon be a reality. They currently have put in a bid for property to expand. A new wellness facility would provide standard behavioral health programs, as well as alternative medicine practices and physical therapies, basically a one-stop-shop for veterans. The canines will still be the hub with a puppy room, but they hope to offer such things as massage therapy, acupuncture, nutrition, and have a psychologist and psychiatrist on-hand in one place.
Lloyd said, “We want to give that hometown feeling, let us help you because you helped us.”
The Tails of Valor, Paws of Honor was founded in December of 2014, and is located in Coopersburg. They are a non-profit organization and are 100 percent privately funded and the services they provide are at no cost to a veteran. They are very proud of their 100 percent graduation rate of their service dogs. To learn more about Tails of Valor, Paws of Honor visit their website atwww.tailofvalor.org or check out the group’s Facebook page.
The O-E PTO gave a donation to the organization and the children collected and donated three bags of dog toys.
