Off the 'Cuff

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Vancouver (September 18, 2008) – Join us September 19 and 20th at the Vancouver Police Museum as we launch a new partnership between BC Field Trips and Pacific Assistance Dogs (PADS). This will be the first of twelve free field trips for puppies-in-training facilitated by BC Field Trips. The general public is also welcome and encouraged to enjoy a free visit the museum on Saturday, September 20th between noon and 4 P.M. to meet some of the puppies-in-training and enjoy special museum activities relating to the Vancouver Police Department’s own Dog Squad.

This initiative was pulled together by Krista Tulloch, a special education teacher with the Vancouver School Board who is also one of the four founders of www.bcfieldtrips.ca, an online resource for those looking for quality fieldtrip experiences for their classes, groups or families. The group also hosts an annual Field Trip Fair for Teachers helping connect teachers with community based learning opportunities for their students.

In describing the impetus for this new partnership, Tulloch describes, “I was at the Capilano Suspension Bridge with my toddler son, following another family through the Treetops Adventure – a series of wooden bridges suspended through the trees. This family included mom, dad, a teenage girl and her assistance dog. The dog was comfortably trundling across each bridge, up and down steps and going with the flow of the movement of the bridge. Wow, I thought, whoever trained that dog got him ready for everything!” The following weekend her family celebrated Mother’s Day at a PADS fundraising event (in a hotel ballroom, on carpet!), complete with PADS puppies in training. The light bulb went on, and now twelve field trip sites have come together to bring this project to life.

The first site to host is the Vancouver Police Museum. Chris Mathieson, Executive Director at the Police Museum was keen to become involved. “This particular initiative is a great way for local cultural facilities to show their appreciation for all the volunteer work that puppy-raisers do, as well as giving the puppies themselves meaningful experiences in a wide range of community environments. We’re proud and excited to be the first host facility, especially given our close connections with another kind of working dog: Vancouver’s K-9 squad.”

The Museum will be waiving the regular admission fee from noon to 4P.M. on Saturday, September 20th for the general public to give them a chance to come down and learn more about PADS and about the history of the police department’s working dogs.

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For more information:

Chris Mathieson, Executive Director
Vancouver Police Museum
240 E. Cordova, Vancouver BC
Phone: 604-665-3346
Email: info@vancouverpolicemuseum.ca
www.vancouverpolicemuseum.ca

Krista Tulloch, Co-founder
BC Field Trips Organizing Committee
Phone: 604-987-5746
Email: krista@bcfieldtrips.ca
www.bcfieldtrips.ca

Tara Dong, Communications Coordinator
Pacific Assistance Dogs
9048 Stormont Ave, Burnaby
Phone: 604-527-0556
Email: tara@pads.ca
www.pads.ca

About the Vancouver Police Museum

The Vancouver Police Museum, housed in Vancouver’s old Coroner’s Court, details the rich history of lawlessness and law enforcement in Vancouver. It is run by an independent non-profit organization and is self-funded through admission and program fees, membership fees, donations, gift shop sales, and project grants. It may also be Vancouver’s fastest growing attraction, having averaged almost 30% growth in each of the last five years. In 2008, in excess of 20,000 people (and dogs) will visit the museum.

About BC Field Trips

In 2003, four volunteers from the education field came together with a strong belief that field trips provide unique and significant learning opportunities. They now organize an annual event — the BC Field Trip Fair, and website — www.bcfieldtrips.ca – to encourage and assist teachers in incorporating field trips into their classroom based instructional program. This year’s Field Trip Fair will take place September 29, 2008 at Grouse Mountain. In the past six years, over 7000 Lower Mainland students have benefitted from free field trips through the BC Field Trip Fair.

About PADS

PADS raises and trains assistance dogs for people who are facing the challenges of life with a physical disability or who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. These dogs allow PADS clients to experience a greater level of independence and an enhanced quality of life. Initially, PADS puppies live with volunteer puppy-raisers. In this time, socialization and exposure to a wide range of experiences prepare puppies to do their important work. Field trips to community settings are a key component of this period of puppy development. New experiences, including visits to busy or unpredictable cultural facilities are opportunities for puppies to build the confidence they need to move on to advanced training. At any given time PADS has from 25 – 40 dogs in the puppy-raising component of their program.

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