A Big Woof for Holiday Express!
by Laura Ewart
2007 was our first with Holiday Express and Cherokee, Parker and I attended one show
at the Alpha School in Lakewood. I was very happy to attend the event, it was a wonderful experience and the dogs enjoyed it as well. They love all of the attention!
Cherokee is my Beagle/Jack Russell Terrier mix. I adopted Cherokee from Jersey Shore Animal Shelter when he was about ten weeks old. He’s five years old now, and has been a certified therapy dog for four years this March. He is a fantastic therapy dog, he loves children and is very calm and gentle with older or very ill or disabled people.
Parker is my English Springer Spaniel. I adopted Parker through a very unfortunate event in my life, my father’s passing. He turned three years old recently and has been a certified therapy dog for one and a half years. Parker is also a wonderful therapy dog, he is very sweet and silly. He loves children as well, and is bouncy and excitable which makes people laugh and smile.
We visit Community Memorial Hospital in Toms River twice a month. In the past, we have worked at library programs, fairs and visited nursing facilities. We also participate and work at several dog walks during the year. We are thrilled about being part of Holiday Express.
I work as a forensic accountant at Cowan, Gunteski & Co, PA in Shrewsbury, and was introduced to Holiday Express through, Lynne, a partner at the firm. Lynn is very dedicated to Holiday Express – and a dog lover. We brainstormed the idea together and it turned out to be a great one!!
My sister came to the Alpha School event with me to help out with dogs. Her name is Lindsey
and she really likes attending visits and events with me and the dogs when she can. She really enjoyed the show and has already volunteered to help me out at more shows next year. Hearing about how much we loved the show, my mother has also volunteered to help out at shows next year, so Holiday Express will be seeing more of us.
When Cherokee and Parker are not working as therapy dogs, they are regular dogs. They love to run and swim and get into trouble! They hike with me every weekend and we camp in the Catskills and Adirondacks as much as we can in the summer. We also take classes in competitive obedience, rally and agility with Ann Scripko at Clever K9 Dog Training Center in Lakewood.