Project Name KaraandCyndi

Cyndi was a 1-year-old Belgian Malinois picked up by the Liberty Police as a "nuisance stray" in November of 2001. The complainant said that she was chasing cars in her neighborhood and requested the Police come and take her away. They brought her to Happy Hills Animal Foundation in Staley, a no-kill shelter which was at that time the animal shelter for Liberty.
We named her Cyndi after the manager at the Petsmart in Greensboro where we have adoption fairs once a month.

Several months before Cyndi came to Happy Hills, an 18 year old lady from Charlotte had inquired with us as to whether we had any dogs that could be trained as a service dog. Kara has severe narcolepsy, and needed a service dog to help her with her day-to-day life. At that time there were no dogs at Happy Hills that were suitable.
But after Cyndi arrived, we quickly determined that she already knew basic obedience commands like sit and down, was leash trained, and was very eager to please. When no owners claimed her after 72 hours, we contacted Kara. By this time Kara had given up on finding an adult dog and was going to buy a German Shepherd puppy from a litter due to be born in December. When the pup was 6 months old, she could begin her service dog training.

But Kara agreed to come evaluate Cyndi. And Cyndi passed with flying colors! Kara adopted her and took her home where Cyndi began her training as a service dog. Here is Kara's report on Cyndi in March 2002:

"Here are a few pictures of Cyndi and me.
Her vest reads "SERVICE DOG
ACCESS REQUIRED
in training"

Cyndi is doing wonderfully!!

She is very smart and loving and perfect!
She is a nice, well-mannered lady almost all the time. We really know and trust each other now, just a stern look and a whispered "no" keeps her on her best behavior, even around dogs that are barking and lunging at her ! She is still learning, but she is the nicest sweetest, prettiest girl, and she already helps me so much! I take her with me almost everywhere I go, and people just love her so much they hardly even stop to question "hey, what is this dog doing in a restaurant??" haha..

Thank you so much for helping us find each other. I can't imagine being without her. I know it sounds cheesy, but she really has brightened my life in so many ways. She's everything you could ever ask for in a dog.

Cyndi is still "in training" but she already does so much. She wakes me up in the mornings, when 5 alarms can't do the job. She jumps up on my bed and barks, nudges, pulls the covers off and licks my face until I finally wake up. I need that kind of physical touch to wake me up.. without her, my family would have had to hire a private nurse to come wake me up when I go away to college again or to live on my own.

I can go more places now because Cyndi is always there by my side, with her support harness to lean on if I need to. I don't have to worry about falling down anymore and I just feel so much safer and more confident knowing that she's always there looking out for me, to help and protect me. I am at home right now, but once I am out on my own again, Cyndi will also be trained to open the door and go to the neighbor's for help in an emergency.. like if there is a fire and she can't wake me up.

Cyndi also can realize before I realize it myself when I start to kinda get foggy and tired….she comes and will rest her head on my knee or nudge me a bit and it helps snap me out of it.

Cyndi is so beautiful and wonderful and smart .. I really don't know where I would be right now without her. She is so important to me. I really hope that Liberty decides to renew their contract with Happy Hills.. this is really NOT a place for them to try to cut some corners to save a few bucks on their budget.. I feel like letting Happy Hills help out is almost their moral duty.. not just to the animals, but to the people like me who benefit so profoundly from the animals you guys help save."

Happy Hills needs donations to continue their work and to save more dogs like Cyndi. Our vet bills are incredibly high. Even Cyndi had complications with her spay, and had a high bill for the extra care she required.