Thereโs something therapeutic about enjoying the waterfront on Lake Simcoe with your best furry pal. This summer you have a chance to embark on a tour with your pooch from Centennial Beach in Barrie, around Big Bay Point to Leonardโs Beach in support of COPE Service Dogs.
On Saturday, July 27, paddlers are invited to join a 25, 10, 5 and 2 kmย stand-up paddle board tour along Lake Simcoe. Kayaks and canoes are also welcome, or you can show your support from shore along the route, says Jane Boake, Founder of COPE Service Dogs and Canines in the Classroom.
โCOPE Service Dogs not only train dogs for facilities and people with disabilities, it also helps keep kids engaged in school by involving them in the training process of the dogs.ย Itโs this aspect of the charity that inspired Buddy Paddles Simcoe,โ says Boake.
Last year Boake, and her dog Buddy paddled the shores of Lake Simcoe to celebrate Buddyโs retirement after 13 years of service. He helped to improve student mental health, and taught job skills in Canines in the Classroom, shares Boake.
โItโs in this spirit that paddlers are invited to join this one-day event to raise money to help COPE dogs benefit more youth.ย After theyโre trained, the COPE dogs impact our community in so many ways. Not only are they partnered with people who have disabilities, they provide therapy and comfort in places like Hospice Simcoe, Child Advocacy Centres as well as being Reading Buddies for children, and visiting seniorsโ homes,โย explains Boake.
At the end of the tour, everyone is invited to a free after-party from 1 โ 4 p.m. at Leonardโs Beach in Innisfil where thereโll be food, balloon twisting, COPE dogs, and agility demonstrations. Boake says your dog is welcome to attend and can learn how to ride a paddle board like Buddy.
There are other opportunities to support COPE Service Dogs such as hosting an event or being a volunteer.ย People are needed to be Puppy Fosters, while the dogs are in training, says Boake. COPE Service Dogs currently have brand new puppies that need fosters. They also require drivers of the COPE van, so they can get the dogs to school and training as well as to events.
โCOPE dogs are bred through our breeding program, which is part of an accredited North American service dog breeding co-operative.ย Theyโre trained by the students in Canines in the Classroom, and by COPE trainers.ย Some of the Canines in the Classroom students go on to work with dogs as a career or train their own dogs,โ explains Boake.ย ย
If you don’t want to paddle board, but youโd like to support COPE, you can fundraise on behalf of Buddy.ย โFor every $50 raised, your name is entered into a draw for an Infinity Paddleboard,โ enlightens Boake. ย
Also, both Centennial Beach in Barrie and Leonardโs Beach in Innisfil have Mobi-Mats installed, a lightweight non-slip roll out mat that allows easy accessibility for everyone.
