Marge Ellison, Vice President
The Pet Companions Club of PebbleCreek is pleased to have as its guest speaker at its April 4 general membership meeting, Natalie Widomski from HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response. We will meet at 3:00 p.m. in Room 100 of the Eagle’s Nest Activities Center. All PebbleCreek residents, whether club members or not, are invited to enjoy this free presentation.
The mission of HOPE AACR is to provide comfort and encouragement through animal-assisted support to individuals affected by crisis and disasters. It was begun when mental health counselors saw the positive responses to the therapy dogs the traumatized students had who survived the 1998 tragic shooting at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon.
Teams consist of a dog and handler trained to respond to intense emotional and environmental situations. Some training topics include: crisis communication skills, stress management, crisis response protocols, canine behavior and welfare, and field training with emergency responders. Currently there are more than 300 certified response teams who have responded to all manner of crises including major hurricanes, wild fires, train derailments, tornadoes, mudslides and shootings.
Natalie has been a team leader for the HOPE Arizona team since 2016. Team leaders work without a canine and provide support and oversight of several dog/handler teams. She is currently training her pet therapy dog, Aztec, to become a HOPE Crisis Response Dog. Natalie has three other rescue dogs and also volunteers with Desert Labrador Retriever Rescue. She is also a board member of Therapy Paws, a west valley therapy dog organization.
As always, we will have a box available for donations of such pet related items as: pet beds, pet toys, pet food (check expiration date), pet crates, leashes, collars, towels, blankets, etc. Those items not used for our PebbleCreek rescues will be donated to other local animal rescues.
Please address any questions to Jim or Marge Ellison at 623-935-6651.