As a part of our Lakeside School environment, we have incorporated some very special facility dogs. Our current dogs, Boomerang and Cobalt, have been a very special influence in the lives of our students. The dogs daily greet our students as they exit the van in the morning, sit with them during some difficult moments, rove around school during class breaks, and sit in classrooms to provide a sense of calm and regulation to so many of our students each day. We have seen a remarkable difference in our school environments as a result of the presence these dogs and the impact they have each day.
Announcing Garnet and Mint, Labrador Retriever Facility Dogs
We are very pleased to announce we will be acquiring two more facility dogs at two of our other schools as we enter the 2015-16 school year.
At Lakeside Girls Academy, we will be introducing Garnet, a Yellow Labrador Retriever, and at our Upper Merion Vantage Academy, we will be introducing Mint, a Black Labrador Retriever. We are absolutely thrilled to have these two valuable, well-trained animals. These dogs will be impacting the lives of our staff and students and bringing calm and support to them each and every day.
Susquehanna Service Dogs raises dogs to assist with children and adults
We have been so pleased to work with Susquehanna Service Dogs, which has provided all of the dogs to our schools. 
Susquehanna Service Dogs raises and trains service dogs to assist children and adults with disabilities so they can become more independent.
The organization was founded in 1993 by a group of dedicated volunteers with a vision of training dogs to assist people to live full, independent lives in the community. Today, with the support of over 190 volunteers throughout the state, they have placed over 240 service dogs with individuals with disabilities throughout Pennsylvania and the surrounding states.
Would you like to support our efforts?
For those of you who might want to support our efforts to bring these wonderful animals to our schools, we are raising funds to help defray the training and purchase costs of the dogs.
You may go to our Lakeside website if you wish to contribute to the expense of our facility dogs purchase and care. We are excited about the new potentials these dogs will be offering to our programs.
We warmly welcome Garnet and Mint to our Lakeside family.
Gerry Vassar, President/CEO, Lakeside Educational Network
