Tradition in the naming of the newest service dog
Clear Path for Veterans New England today announced the naming of their newest service dog. Johnny Ro, affectionately called “Johnny” he was named in honor of US Army SFC Jonathan Roberge, who was killed in action February 9, 2009 in Iraq. It takes about two years to fully train one of these service dogs. They are all certified from AKC in Good Canine Citizenship, public access tested, and each dog is trained to a minimum of three related tasks — such as touch, hold, pick up, block, etc. — specially
customized to the matched veteran in need.
Canine pairs are also trained to assist Veterans and military service members with PTSD to learn to recognize such things as elevated heart rate and quickness of breath or disturbed sleep. The canine pairs learn how to mitigate these issues by such methods as waking their
owner from a nightmare, maintaining their owner’s personal space in public settings, and offering a soothing presence that can help the owner regain composure and control. Johnny will learn these skills under the direction of Amelia Wendall, a trainer on Clear Path’s Canine Team.
Media Contact:
Donna Bulger