Agency - Pawsitive Works

Pawsitive Works helps struggling youth identify and modify damaging behavior patterns through the care and training of shelter dogs. We believe that the human-animal connection facilitates trust, empathy and empowerment. We further believe that the youth’s responsibility for modifying canine problem behaviors with the assistance of adults trained in canine positive reinforcement methods will build self esteem and respect for the needs of others as well as an awareness of how they can contribute in positive ways to their own communities. Our efforts will increase the adoption and retention rates of shelter dogs through community awareness and education.

Description:
What is Pawsitive Works? When we tell people that we pair at risk youth with shelter dogs in a program that “Shapes Both Ends of the Leash” – people nod and smile – but they don’t really “get it”!
We often compare the program to prison inmates training dogs. People begin to get an idea of what we do.
Our youth are referred to the program from juvenile justice agencies, private and public schools. Most have problem behaviors, all benefit from learning valuable life lessons.
How does this work? The youth are assigned a dog from a community shelter to train for 5 weeks. Three times a week. We try to match “like” with “like”. Shy dogs with shy youth. The youth work to overcome shyness by encouraging the dog to come out of its shell. In the process of providing the shelter dogs with much needed enrichment and behavior modification. In the process, the youth learn incredible life lessons themselves.
Shelters are typically overcrowded and understaffed. The “gap” between providing care and enrichment can make a huge difference in a dog’s sociability and general “adoptability”. Pawsitive Works mission is to help the overlooked and harder to adopt dogs become more adoptable, to highlight them in media efforts and to bring awareness of their needs to the general community.
Youth are every community’s future. Helping them to learn empathy, increase self-esteem and understand behavior modification is key to helping them become productive members of society.
The dogs are available for adoption but we ask adopters to allow them to complete their community service before going home with them. We celebrate the completion of the program with a graduation ceremony. We love watching the youth “hand over” their training dogs to new owners.
Truly amazing… heartwarming and life changing… Pawsitive Works!

History:
Pawsitive Works is a 501c3 non-profit organization that provides a program for youth at risk utilizing canine intervention. We are outcome based and have implemented quantitative measurement tools.

Our first program was implemented in Bonners Ferry, Idaho in 2009. Since then we have expanded our program into Sandpoint, Coeur D’Alene and Spokane with plans to reach youth in communities throughout the United States.

We utilize a strong support team of staff, volunteers and our diverse board of directors. We are excited to also have the benefits of a strong advisory board lending expertise and ideas towards our development.

Pawsitive Works strongly supports our partner shelters through marketing efforts to assist with adoptions including the use of Petfinder ads.
Our curriculum was professionally developed and is structured to provide strong measurements of youth progress through pre/post testing and the use of daily rubrics. The reading and writing homework all correlate the dog training lessons to the youth’s own lives.

Contact people:

Karen Schumacher, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Rhonda Hamerslough, Program Director, (phone), (email)

Address:

125 E Hazel Coeur D'Alene, ID 83814 (See a map)