Columbus puppy makes the Rose Bowl parade
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Thousands of people rang in the new year at the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. Groups from all over the country showed off their floats, including a local puppy and his trainer.
Each year, service organization Lions International has a float in the parade. They’ve had a longtime partnership with Canine Companions, and to celebrate their 50th anniversary of training service dogs, eight dogs tagged along.
“About 40 years ago, a special foundation was created called Lions Project for Canine Companions that specifically raises money for Canine Companions,” Ashley Ballard said.
Ballard is a part of a local division of Lions International and is raising a one-year-old service dog in training named Sly. She’s also an Ohio State alumna, so when she found out about the opportunity she jumped at it.
“I immediately raised my hand and said, 'I want to do that,'” said Ballard.
From getting on a plane to walking in front of thousands of people, there were a lot of firsts for Sly.
“We’ve gone through Easton, we go through all the stores, he goes grocery shopping with me, but this will be a whole different experience,” she said.
After making it through the more than five mile walk, Ballard said she booked Sly a sitter so she could cheer on her alma mater. When they get back to Ohio, Ballard said she has around six months left of training Sly.
“He will matriculate into advanced training. At that point, he will spend anywhere from a couple months to six months with our professional trainers on campus. They will teach him all of the important life skills that he needs,” she said.
You can learn more about the work done at Canine Companions here.