It’s a really heartwarming feeling when a partnership between two wonderful organizations continues to grow and thrive. On Saturday, April 15 and Sunday, April 16 Paladin Inc. and Central Indiana Scentwork, an accredited organization of the National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW) worked together for the second year in a row to hold a Scent Trial competition. As 38 dogs sniffed their way to the top of the competition, Paladin and Central Indiana Scentwork raised awareness for a good cause.
“We’re very lucky to get to partner with Paladin again. They have been wonderful partners with us, allowing us to use their facilities and providing some volunteers,” said Lora Barlow, Central Indiana Scentwork’s volunteer event coordinator.
Central Indiana Scentwork’s Scent Trial competition is a civilian dog competition designed to parallel the work that professional odor detection canines do. The dogs do everything from container to vehicle searches. It’s a great way to get your pet some exercise as well as bond with your beloved furry friend.
“There’s a lot of teamwork that goes on between the dog and its handler. The handler has to understand all the dog’s cues and the dog has to understand its task. Many of the competitors here are in scent work classes to train,” said Barlow.
Each handler-dog team does six searches, and the team with the most correct detections in the shortest amount of time wins.
Aside from all the cute dogs, an exciting part of the event was a fundraiser that NACSW holds to donate money back to Paladin and all of the good work it does. Last year, NACSW raised about $1,200 and the goal for this year was to raise even more.
The money that the fundraiser raises for Paladin is incredibly helpful and makes an immeasurable difference, but what makes an even bigger difference is the amount of awareness that the event raises for Paladin.
“There are almost 100 people here who may never have heard of Paladin or what we do and that is just as good a reason as any to host these events. It brings people into our community and it raises awareness for Paladin’s adults with disabilities services. People may not know someone with a disability and may never even think about it, so it allows us to start those conversations. It’s a cool connection,” said Melissa Bohacek, Paladin’s marketing and development officer.
Bohacek wasn’t wrong about the event raising awareness. One of the competitors, Jenne DeMaster, came with her German Shepherd Tulley all the way from northern Illinois. The two have been taking scent work classes for a couple of years and wanted to try out a competition. Being so close to Chicago, though, getting into competitions can be difficult. DeMaster was grateful to get into the scent-work competition at Niemann and visit a place she never even knew about.
“It’s nice seeing all these other people out here with their dogs having fun. This is actually my first time in Michigan City so it’s really interesting being here and seeing the school,” said DeMaster.
Several other competitors even traveled to Niemann all the way from Wisconsin. The amount of awareness Paladin raised for its mission and services during the event was truly remarkable.
What’s even more remarkable, though, is how much the event touched the hearts of the people Paladin serves. The individuals with disabilities who were at last year’s competition were beyond excited to take part in it again.
“They kept asking me ‘Are we going to do it again? Are we going to do it this year?’ because they just loved the dogs so much. They were asking so many questions and getting engaged and showing interest. They wanted to run score sheets and sell their artwork and help in any way they could and it’s just really neat,” said Bohacek.
In preparation for the event, the early childhood education students at Paladin’s Imagination Station made homemade dog treats so all the dogs would get a fun snack after working so hard. The kids loved every second of researching recipes and finding fun ingredients to make the treats.
“This has just been super exciting,” said Bohacek. “This is all so much fun for everybody.”
The event was ultimately so much fun and such a big success that Central Indiana Scentwork can’t wait to put on more competitions with Paladin. The Scent Trial competition is sure to be a bright spot in Paladin’s future for a very long time.
“They’re just an amazing organization to work with and we want to be able to continue this relationship for many years down the road,” said Barlow.
To learn more about Paladin and all the amazing ways it engages with the community, visit https://paladin.care/.
To learn more about Central Indiana Scent Work, check out its Facebook page here.
