George & Stefan
May 1, 2021
While COVID-19 put us on lock-down and shelter in place orders were announced from state to state, we at the Beyond A Buddy Foundation had to adapt to meet new challenges. Our group training classes were shut down and we opted for individual training sessions for all active clients. Starting in September of 2020, we rolled out a one to one training program where our trainers would continue to educate our soon to be service dogs at home with each client.
George training to pick up varying items for Stefan, on command.
The first client to experience this was Stefan, who lives in San Rafael and his service dog in training George, who was a rather willful puppy that proved to be more headache than help in the early days. Stefan, is living with the affects of Parkinson’s disease as well as the impact of a stroke several years ago. Due to these factors, he requires mobility assistance and in the opinion of his family “a buddy to keep him company during the day”. We were happy to work with Stefan and his family to ensure George received proper foundational and skill based training.
Through April 2021, we provided weekly training sessions for Stefan and George to practice and work on his mobility assistance skills. That same month, it was determined that George had met the minimum requirements for graduation, for both training hours and skill development. While we wanted to continue to work with George and Stefan, the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic took a massive toll on our organization and resources. Since George had met the minimum requirements for training, our team was confident that he would pass our graduation exam. In late April, he was assessed and his trainer signed off, giving George passing scores on the Public Access Test and CGC exams.
George was then permanently placed with Stefan and his family, just as his daughter intended when she contacted the organization at the start of 2020. He is now living a happy life in San Rafael with his handlers Stefan and his wife Suzanna. Stefan passed in July, 2023 and it was decided that George would stay with Suzanna.