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Meet that Raiser – Amalia DeAngelis
Name: Amalia DeAngelis
Occupation: Teach Italian and Spanish at a public high school
Prison: JJ Moran
Current Pup: Honor, 15 months old
How long have you been a Weekend Puppy Raiser and how many dogs have you raised? (Include furloughed dogs and the one you are currently raising).
I have been a WPR for 3 years. Honor is my 3rd dog in training. I started with Bradley then Dougie.
What led you to Weekend Puppy Raising?
I had been a volunteer fostering shelter pups from the South for 5 years. It was a worthy cause and the organization was very organized but it got to become exhausting fostering several pups at a time. I was looking for something as rewarding but working with the limited free time I had. When I was researching service dogs including dogs for the blind, NEADS appeared on the search engine. I read about the organization and was impressed about how the training included the inmates at local prisons. I thought the service aspect along with the prison rehabilitation program as phenomenal and wanted to be part of an organization that was community driven. I applied and waited.
After a long wait I received a call from Annie Jones and set up an interview. After that I went to the orientation and a few classes to learn more about the process. I love being a WPR. I met many people who are WPR and with whom I have much in common with. I made new friends and have a furry pal every weekend!
Ice Breakers
If you had your own talk show, who would your first 3 guests be?
If I had a talk show, the first 3 guests I would want to interview are: Oprah Winfrey, Jay Shetty and Dante Alighieri.
If you had one extra hour of free time a day what would you do with it?
If I had an extra hour of time I would sit at a farm and pet the animals then look out into the clear blue sky and give thanks for Nature.
Would you rather be able to speak all foreign languages or talk to animals?
As a language teacher I love languages and culture and would love to learn to speak ‘dog”.
If you could visit one place in the world where would it be and why?
I would visit Machu Pichu as I want to be as close to the sky as possible!
Are you a listener or a talker?
I am a listener first, talker second.
Tell us your favorite part about being a Weekend Puppy Raiser or your favorite memory with one of the NEADS pups.
Meeting new people, graduation and hearing how these dogs impact the lives of many, have a friend at all times on the weekend, contribute giving back and animal lover by nature! It is exciting to see the transformation of the pups, as they grow and become mature they have a strong leadership sense but then free time and they are crazy happy!
