After losing our two beloved Great Danes, Walter and Louise, my husband Ryan and I found ourselves grieving a home that suddenly felt too quiet. In that difficult season, we discovered Canine Companions and the comfort, purpose, and joy that comes from being part of their mission.

Canine Companions provides expertly trained service dogs free of charge to children, adults, and veterans with disabilities. Their dogs support people with mobility challenges, hearing loss, and medical needs; they help veterans with PTSD; they empower children to gain independence and confidence. These life‑changing partnerships are only possible because of donors who believe in access, dignity, and community.

What many people don’t realize is that it takes over $50,000 to raise, train, and support a single professional service dog from puppyhood through graduation. Canine Companions never passes that cost on to the people they serve. This means fundraising is essential to keeping this mission strong.

Ryan and I volunteer as fosters for dogs in professional training. We welcome these incredible dogs into our home, help them practice skills, and prepare them for the next step in their journey. Fostering has taught us so much about loving and letting go, about service to others, and about how healing it can be to support a dog who will go on to change someone’s life.

DogFest is our chance to give back to the organization that helped us through our grief and continues to inspire us. Every donation directly supports the training and placement of future service dogs and the people who are waiting for them.

Thank you for supporting this mission with us.