Online voting is underway to name the Pirates pooch.
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have a new pooch, and he needs a name.
See the new team dog: Click the video player above.
The baseball club said it’s teaming up with Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs to provide a service dog to a local military veteran.
Voting is open now, with four names to choose from: Homer, Bucco, Rookie or Jolly. Click here to vote for your top pick.
Guardian Angels will train the dog and bring the young pup to baseball games this season to meet fans and get some needed socialization before going to his forever home.
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have adopted a new team dog, and he is ready to play ball!
The Pirates teamed up with Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs to provide a service dog to a military veteran.
Hi, Bucco Nation! I’m your new Pirates Pup. Follow along as I train to be a furever friend for a veteran. 💛 pic.twitter.com/Y9kPQAUzA7
— Bucco (@PiratesPup) April 25, 2022
Guardian angels will bring the pup to games throughout the season to engage with fans. The Pirates Pup will then head to his “furever” home with a military veteran once training is complete.
There is just one thing the Pirate Pup still needs: a name.
The team is asking fans to help name their new teammate! The names to choose from are Homer, Bucco, Rookie and Jolly.
Click here to cast your vote! Voting ends May 3
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Pirates have a new teammate who will surely be happy to fetch as many balls as the players can field.
The organization has joined forces with Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs to introduce the Pirates Pup. Now, they just need a name for him.
Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs, which is building a training facility in Western Pennsylvania, will train the pup to eventually pair with a military veteran in need.
While he grows and trains, the puppy will be the Pirates’ team dog.
He will appear at PNC Park this summer and socialize with the team and the fans, the Pirates said.
(Story continues below tweet.)
Hi, Bucco Nation! I’m your new Pirates Pup. Follow along as I train to be a furever friend for a veteran. 💛 pic.twitter.com/Y9kPQAUzA7
— Bucco (@PiratesPup) April 25, 2022
The Pirates are asking fans to help give him a name. Voting is now open on their website through May 3.
Choose between Homer, Bucco, Rookie and Jolly.
Visit this link if you would like to vote.
Pittsburgh, PA April 23, 2022 (EIN Presswire): The Pirates and PNC are teaming up with Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs to provide a service dog to a military veteran in the Pittsburgh area. Guardian Angels will train the dog and bring it to games throughout the season to engage with fans and help get the socialization it needs. Once training is complete, the Pirates Pup will head to his Forever home, partnered with a military veteran dealing with permanent disabilities.
“This is an incredible partnership” said Chris Ann Phillips, CAO of Guardian Angels. “We are so grateful to the Pirates Organization, Pirates Charities and PNC Bank for joining us to change the life of another Veteran with disabilities in the Pittsburgh area”.
The Pirates organization has just launched a contest to name this future Service Dog. You can vote for one of 4 names selected by the team:
Homer, Bucco, Rookie or Jolly are the choices, and can be voted on by visiting: https://www.mlb.com/pirates/fans/team-dog between now and May 3rd. You can also follow this future service dog’s training on Twitter @PiratesPup or on Instagram or @piratespup.
Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs is based in Williston, Florida, but has paired nearly 50 deserving recipients in the Pittsburgh area and are in the process of funding a new state-of-the-art campus in Washington County, just outside of Pittsburgh.
For more information on Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs, our campus campaign, dog sponsorship or an application, please visit www.MedicalServiceDogs.org
About Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs
Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Williston, Florida and has grown into a nation-wide medical service dog organization. The organization rescues, raises, trains and then donates individually trained medical service dogs to veterans, first responders and others who suffer from disabilities including PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury, diabetic and seizure disorders, mobility issues and more. Since their inception in 2010, Guardian Angels has donated and paired hundreds of individually trained medical service dogs with those in need. For more information, visit: www.MedicalServiceDogs.org
A lot of businesses have suffered greatly through the pandemic. Thirty percent of small businesses and even some large businesses, including non-profits, closed their doors permanently in the last two years. It is estimated that another 10% of the remaining businesses have been so severely damaged that they may still permanently close in the next 12 to 18 months. However, there are businesses that did survive and even thrive. (more…)
GUARDIAN ANGELS MEDICAL SERVICE DOGS TO HOLD CAREER DAY
APRIL 23, 2022: Williston, FL (EIN Presswire) –Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs will host its first ever Career Day at its Headquarters in Williston, Florida on April 23, 2022.
Due to rapid growth, Guardian Angels will be interviewing for several positions including:
- Veterinarian
- Service Dog Trainers
- Veterinary Technicians
- Recipient Relations Specialist
- Dog Care Specialists
- Veterinary Assistant
Please join us for a day of networking and interviews. Pre-registration is required, and interview schedules will be set in advance of the event. We are looking for people with a passion to help others, and a love of dogs. Please visit: Career Day to learn more and register to attend.
About Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs
Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs is a 501(C)3 Based in Florida that rescues, raises, trains and then donates individually trained medical service dogs to veterans, first-responders and others who suffer from disabilities including PTS, Traumatic Brain Injury, seizure and diabetic disorders, mobility issues and much more. Over the past 11 years, Guardian Angels has paired nearly 400 individually trained medical service dogs with recipients in 29 states, and with your help, that number can continue to grow. Visit our website at: MedicalServiceDogs to get involved or learn more.
At Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs, our volunteers and fosters play a crucial role in helping us prepare our dogs for our recipients to help them lead a more independent and accessible life. Jim Granoff is one of the volunteers who goes above and beyond for our organization, to help us in our mission to unleash the power to heal. (more…)
Dogs, much like humans, get a variety of health benefits from regular exercise. Physical activity is an excellent way to enhance and lengthen your dog’s life.
Like non-working dogs, service dogs require a healthy weight and regular exercise to stay in their best working condition.
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At Guardian Angels, we put a major focus on understanding the law. It’s important to keep in mind that the law is not as simple as you may think because there is federal law and state law as well different regulations for the DOD, the VA, HUD, and the DOT.
There are also a variety of variables among a lot of pieces of the law which is why we focus on teaching the law to our newly paired teams. This helps to ensure that they know what their rights are. We also work with merchants on service dog laws to ensure they also know their rights.
“I teach a lot. I have extensive videos. I have been all over the country teaching very large groups of realtors, judicial systems attorneys, business owners, manager groups, etc. because they all need to know how to navigate through the convolutes of the law and have the right information. The merchants need to know what their rights are, how to recognize a proper working service dog, and what to do if it’s not,” said Carol Borden, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder.
“They also need to know how to recognize an imposter dog and what to do. As well as our own recipients, they have to know what’s okay and what’s not okay with their service dog. When they need to respect others in certain situations while being resected themselves.”
PAWS Act of 2021
The most recent development is the service dog law, Puppies Assisting Wounded Service Members Act of 2021, or the PAWS Act of 2021. This bill requires the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to implement a grant program to help pair service dogs with eligible veterans. Organizations that receive these grants will be required to provide veterinary health insurance coverage, travel expenses, and hardware for each service dog and veteran that participates in the program.
According to Congress.gov, Eligible veterans for this program are those who:
- Who are enrolled in the VA health care system
- Have been evaluated and treated for post-traumatic stress (PTS) but remain diagnosed with PTS
- May benefit from a service dog
- Agree to successfully complete training through an eligible organization.
Eligible veterans will be required to see a VA health care provider at least once every 180 days to ensure they continue to benefit from the service dog.
Eligible organizations are nonprofit organizations must meet the following requirements:
- Must meet publicly available standards set forth by the Association of Service Dog Providers for Military Veterans
- Must possess expertise in the needs of veterans with PTSD
- Must agree to cover all costs more than the grant amount to guarantee the benefits of the program for the veteran
- Must agree to reaccept or replace a service dog provided to a veteran
- Must submit an application to the VA
How is Guardian Angels Involved with Florida Service Dogs Laws?
Several years ago, Carol was asked by a Florida state senator to advise on service dog law. We set up some new state laws in the state of Florida, creating penalties for both imposter dogs and for merchants that refused actual working teams. What many people don’t understand is that the state law can’t supersede a federal law, but it can create laws to support federal law and address things that the federal law did not address.
Carol went to Tallahassee several times, where she testified in favor of a new service dog bill, which was passed into law. Once that happened, other states picked up on these actions. Carol was also asked to review multiple drafts of a service dog bill for Michigan which was voted into law. One of our Michigan service dogs was the first to receive a Michigan Service Dog patch.
Learn How You Can Contribute to The Guardian Angels Mission
To help us continue our mission of providing life-changing service dogs to our veterans in need, donate today! Your generous donations help us to feed, train, and pair our service dogs with recipients to help them regain their independence. Click here to check out our latest campaigns.
My name is Matthew McMurray. I am a twelve-year veteran of the US Army, and I served a tour in Iraq in 2003 where I was injured in the line of duty. After returning home, my family and I adopted a puppy from a shelter and named her Sandy. We had Sandy for almost thirteen years before she had to be put down due to illness.
While we had Sandy I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and PTSD, but my symptoms were not severe and were easily managed with medication. After Sandy’s death, I slipped into a deep depression and my anxiety made me become reclusive. I began having insomnia and suffered from night terrors. I also packed on nearly fifty pounds and started having heart palpitations and high blood pressure.
We had heard of Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs at a high school football game where I had the opportunity to meet two teams, Eric and Sun and Patrick and Trooper. My wife, fearing that I was slipping away, recalled the encounter and suggested that I apply. I submitted my application a few weeks later.
Immediately after being paired with Cobalt, I noticed positive changes. I became more sociable and less withdrawn, I was no longer afraid of going to the grocery store or mall, I became more physically active, regained a positive outlook on life, my depression subsided enough to allow me to stop taking medication, and the night terrors stopped.
In the years since our pairing, I’ve gone on to start a new career as an Information Technology Auditor, nearly tripling my income. I’ve reconnected with old friends, rekindled old hobbies, and become an advocate for service dogs and veterans’ mental health. I have a renewed sense of purpose, confidence, and freedom. The transformation has been nothing short of a miracle, and I am indeed living an amazing “new normal”.
According to the Brain Injury Association of America, more than 5.3 million or one in every 60 people in the United States live with a permanent brain-injury-related disability.
What Are The Symptoms of a Brain Injury?
Brain injuries have complex effects that vary widely from person to person. The symptoms of a brain injury depend on factors such as location, cause, and severity.
When it comes to brain injury symptoms, some will show up immediately following the traumatic incident, whereas other symptoms may show up days or weeks later.
The symptoms that a person who experiences a brain injury may experience include, but are not limited to:
- Headaches
- Seizures
- Spasticity
- Loss of Balance and Increased Dizziness
- Sleep Problems
- Reduced Cognition (Awareness or Comprehension)
- Depression
- Personality Changes
No two brain injuries are the same. This list only serves to show a snapshot of the symptoms that someone with a brain injury can experience.
How Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs Can Help
Our services dogs can assist someone with a brain injury in several ways, including:
- Balance support
- Retrieving dropped items
- Alerting to nightmares to improve sleep patterns
- Alerting prior to seizures and/or migraines
- Mitigating depression
A service dog can make a significant impact in the lives of those struggling with a brain injury by helping them during a medical or emotional emergency, providing balance and security in public places, and aiding with memory-related daily tasks.
To learn more about Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs, contact us today.
Chris Weber, who has been with GAMSD for about 3 ½ years as a Development Project Administrator, joined the organization after recovering from a Traumatic Brain Injury. (more…)
At Guardian Angels, we are always innovative, and we are always looking for ways to make things better. It has been our philosophy for the last almost 12 years that anything we find to be a weakness or a need, we focus on it and try to come up with an innovative idea to make it stronger, make it better. (more…)
Under Federal Law, there is no restriction as to who may or may not train a service dog, however, there are multiple elements to consider…
Do you know how to choose the most appropriate dog to become a service dog?
Over 60% of the dogs that start out in professional training programs, do not pass resulting in them being adopted out. These are dogs being trained by professionals that still didn’t make it. Not every dog has all the characteristics necessary to be a service dog. They must be large enough, brave enough, and intelligent enough to do the job. They can never present a public safety threat and must be able to perform their tasks 90% of the time or more despite being in crowds, stores, or any unusual environment. If your chosen dog doesn’t make it, are you prepared to rehome him/or her after spending a year or more in training and start over with a new dog in hopes the next one will pass the rigorous training?
Do you have experience doing some of the most advanced dog training skills?
Most pet dog trainers, military dog trainers, police dog trainers, etc., have never trained service dogs or studied disabilities. As a result, we created a college accredited 2.5-year program to teach apprentices how to become service dog trainers. There are multiple components to training a service dog that are not part of training for other types of disciplines, therefore most trainers or individuals would not know how to train a dog to alert on a certain high or low for diabetes, or alert in advance for a seizure, or how to know when to hit an emergency help button if you were incapacitated or an elevator button, or wake someone from a night terror, etc. Even if you get through the house manners, confidence building, socialization, basic obedience, public access practice, etc. and your dog can pass all these components, are you able to teach him the required advanced tasks that legally qualify him/her to be a service dog?
Are you familiar with ADA and state laws, HUD, DOT, VA, DOD, and DOT regulations?
The service dog laws and regulations are very convoluted and confusing even for attorneys and judicial systems, thus we teach the law to hundreds of various professional groups every year, as well as all the teams we pair. Are you prepared to know when your rights are being violated or if you are violating the rights of someone else or a business? Do you know that certain laws vary from state to state? Did you know that churches, cruise lines and other countries are exempt or do not recognize our laws and regulations?
Do you know the proper etiquette expected of a dog in public?
There are high expectations of a properly trained service dog in public. A service dog should basically be invisible unless they need to perform a task. There are rules regarding being in restaurants, grocery stores, airplanes, etc. in which your dog must behave accordingly. Are you familiar with and is your dog trained to these expectations?
Sadly, these are just a few of the variables that make training your own service dog very challenging. The advantage of going through a professional organization is that all these things are handled for you, we bare all the expenses of raising and training the dog and then donate them to qualified recipients. The disadvantage is that most credible organizations have very long waiting lists.
