By Sheri Soltes, Founder & President

Time to register for THSD’s 10th Annual Mighty Texas Dog Walk. 

Goal:  To win Texas’ THIRD Guinness World Record for “Largest Dog Walk”.

Record to beat?  10,272 dogs held by England.  (Surely, Texas can beat that puny island!)

We’ll be in scenic downtown Austin along with dozens of dog-friendly vendors with lots of goodies for your best friend.  Check out our sponsors to the right – they’re more awesome than ever!

Every dog gets a gold medal at the finish line and every dog walker gets a collector’s T-shirt by artist Mauro Garza, a sturdy Purina dog bowl and a commemorative walk bib.  That bib is important – you’ll give the tear strip at the bottom to a volunteer at the Finish line. That’s how we count the walkers for the Guinness World Record.

Proceeds from this year’s Mighty Texas Dog Walk benefit THSD’s Assistance Dogs for Military Personnel.

Save $5 when you pre-register online! 

Free Eye Exams for Assistance Dogs

Austin's Central Texas Veterinary Specialty Hospital is among over one hundred certified veterninary ophthalmologists offering free eye exams to Assistance Dogs, as well as other working dogs, the week of May 12, 2008.  CTVSH is also one of our Mighty Texas Dog Walk Sponsors.

CTVSH, along with their peers across the country, will provide free sight-saving eye exams and preventative health reports to 5,000-10,000 Service Dogs.  They are offering these services at no cost to Service Dog groups including: Guide Dogs, Hearing Dogs, Service Dogs, detection dogs and search and rescue dogs. 

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More THSD on TV!

By Sheri Soltes, Founder & President

You may soon see public service announcements about Texas Hearing & Service Dogs on television throughout Texas.

That is the goal of a collaboration between THSD and Elephant Productions of Austin, which approached us about donating the production of a 30 second public service announcement (psa). We filmed the psa on April 13th. Who would believe it took 8 hours to film what will be edited down to half a minute!

Filming J.J. retrieving Chris' dropped pen

THSD Service Dog team Chris Hyatt and "J.J." are the stars of the psa. This intrepid team stayed upbeat and eager to work throughout a day of multiple locations, lighting adjustments and retakes due to little kids wandering through the shots.

Spoiler: The storyline is that of a man getting ready for a special occasion. He is debating which tie to wear and his Service Dog promptly chooses the red tie from the clothes tree and brings it to his lap. After turning off the light and tugging the door closed, J.J. walks by Chris’ side out down the hall of the apartment building.

Next scene, you see Chris and J.J. approaching a giant bookstore. It is Austin favorite BookPeople, the largest bookstore in Texas - and independently owned, too! Chris stops at the front door and J.J. goes up on his hind legs to push the automatic door opener button. Success!

They enter the store and approach the elevator where J.J. pushes the UP button. They enter and go up.

Upon exiting the elevator, they pass a line of people waiting for a book signing to begin. Aha! It’s Chris who’s the author. He gets behind the table and a woman leans over with a book for him to sign. Chris’ pen falls off the table and J.J. retrieves it and delivers it to Chris’ lap. The scene ends with a shot of the open book and Chris’ title, I’ll Get By With a Little Help From My Friends. Magic!

Our next step is to edit the eight hours down into thirty seconds and choose some background music. Next, we’ll distribute the psa to television stations throughout Texas. Stay tuned and when you see Chris and J.J. on T.V., you can say you read about it here first!

Special thanks to Sara Masetti, Billy Canino, Jared Thompson and Robyn Beck of Elephant Productions and Steve Bercu of BookPeople.

Career Change Dog Spotlight

Excel - High-spirited, intelligent and playful

Meet Excel, a handsome, bright-eyed dog who is interested in everything around him.

A smaller dog, the size of a Spitz, he loves going for walks, playing games and being affectionate.   Excel learns quickly.

Excel will do best in a home where he is the only pet.  Also a home with older children. 

Excel is the perfect pet for someone who wants a one of a kind dog that doesn’t look like anyone else’s.  There is only one Excel and with a call to 512-858-1495 or an email to Debbie@servicedogs.org, he may be yours!