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Use of Funds

We are currently fundraising to cover the costs of incorporation.

Nuan's Report (22.47 plus taxes) Electronic filing of Federal Incorporation (200 plus taxes Fundrazr Payment Processing Fees

Support Skunk’s Academy

Skunk’s Academy is dedicated to improving the quality of life for disabled individuals in the National Capital Region. We rely on support from community members such as you, who make it possible for us to support disabled Canadians through our Service Dog training program as well as our awareness and advocacy efforts.

Skunk’s Academy mitigates many costs thanks to local volunteers who comprise our Board of Directors and much of our operating staff; however we still require funding to support the purchase of: animals for service training, animal food, animal care equipment, veterinary care, other animal care services, and training facilities.

What You Can Do

Make a monetary donation! Whether it’s small or large, every penny counts. Share this message! Spend some time with us! Volunteers help reduce costs by providing their time/service free of charge.

Additional Information:

Many disabled individuals, though capable of caring for and benefiting from a service animal, are members of low income families and are not capable of being financially responsible for the animal. Skunk’s Academy believes that quality of life is important for both human and canine alike, thus assumes responsibility for our animals throughout their entire life including the costs of food, necessary equipment, and required professional care.

Each animal costs between $500 and $1,500 for the organization to purchase and will have cost the organization roughly an additional $12,000 by the time it is ready for placement with a disabled individual. With an estimated working life of eight years and average expected lifespan of twelve years each animal will cost the organization roughly $60,000 in total.

In addition to the direct costs of maintaining our animals, the organization incurs other variable costs in the form of fundraising initiatives, advocacy and awareness efforts, mandatory licenses and insurance, facility leasing/purchase, and other operating expenses.

From our Pesident:

Everything starts with Skunk.

On December 1st 2014 Lilly gave birth to seven healthy boxer/lab puppies, the first of which we now know as “Skunk”. After eight torturous and marvelous weeks of socialization and basic behavior reinforcement it was time to say goodbye to six puppies and bring Skunk home.

Skunk isn’t my first dog, and Lilly’s wasn’t my first litter, but there’s something special about those two girls.

A few months after Skunk joined our family, my partner was diagnosed with mitral valve syndrome; a disability which leaves her feint and disoriented on occasion, something Skunk quickly attuned too. We searched for months for an organization that would accept current companion animals into their program or allow for home based training and we were met with rejection after rejection. This, of course, is why everything starts with Skunk; we now work with her for one to two hours per day, and she is well on her way to meeting and exceeding expectations.

Going through this process with Skunk, working closely with other service and therapy animals, as well as performing general dog training and handler education, has reinforced our understanding of the relationship between animal and handler, as well as demonstrated the effectiveness of positive reinforcement based training techniques for both general training and behavior modification.