Growing up in a military family, and having a sibling that is in the military, Candice Davis knew she wanted to give back to that community. One day, she saw a Facebook post about a military member in her area that was looking for someone to board her dog while she was on training trips. That post was about Jake, and she decided this was the perfect way for her to give back.
Jake and Arwen dozing in the sun
Jake has been Candice’s first Dogs on Deployment placement. When Jake’s owner, Marisol Hernandez, went to meet Candice, who has one dog of her own named Arwen, the two women found out they lived relatively close to one another. Marisol initially thought that she needed a boarding placement for Jake because of a long, impending training assignment; but, as it turned out, she has had many shorter training assignments over the past year.
Three is more fun: Jake, Arwen and Lox.
Candice has watched Jake for one to two weeks at a time, for all of them. Marisol says that Jake is always “extremely happy every time I drop him off,” adding that “I’m just so grateful to have found her with DoD help.”
Jake was a very lucky dog; not only did he have Arwen to play with, but also a Greyhound named Lox that Candice sometimes had through dog sitting. Plus, Candice took Jake to work with her on occasion, or took field trips with Arwen to doggy day care activities.
All dogs seem to like snuggling!
Marisol moved away early this year, and she said that she knew she would have to “start the process of finding a new boarder all over again,” and that she was sad to leave Candice. She wanted Candice and Jake’s story to go out to the world to encourage people to join the DoD network and see how easy it is to find good people to work with you, and your pet.
Jake and Arwen having some outside fun
Candice is sure she will be a boarder again for Dogs on Deployment. With Jake and his mom having moved out of the area, she has been looking at the pets in need postings, and trying to decide on a new military member and pet to help. She misses Jake a lot, and this has reminded her how important it is to help out those who serve.
If you are interested in being a boarder for Dogs on Deployment, visit Dogs on Deployment and create an account, and search for pets in need in your area!
