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NEADS Staff, Clients, Volunteers

An archive of select articles and media coverage featuring NEADS World Class Service Dogs.

Worcester Telegram: Graduation for service dogs

April 29, 2018

Allan Jung, Worcester telegram.com: Service dogs and their people received diplomas Sunday at a NEADS ceremony held at Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School.

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Nebraska TV: Spotlighting NEADS Service Dog Programs

April 4, 2018

Nebraska TV, The Good Life

NEADS Director of Development, Cathy Zemaitis, discussed NEADS and our Service Dog programs with the host of Nebraska TV's Good Life.

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The Boston Globe: Rescue, a very good dog, named country’s best

November 18, 2017
Eric Moskowitz, The Boston Globe: “Rescue, speak,” Jess Kensky said, clutching a treat in her hand as she prepared her service dog Thursday for his big moment at the ASPCA Humane Awards, where he was receiving 2017 Dog of the Year honors. Full Story

Worcester Telegram: CEO One on One: Gerry DeRoche

April 26, 2016

Chief Executive Officer, Gerry DeRoche, has been leading NEADS since 2010, when he made the decision to leave a 33-year career in banking for the nonprofit world. The University of Connecticut graduate resides in Concord with his family, which includes two golden retrievers. Full Story

Providence Journal: Handling with care: By training service dogs, ACI inmates help others

February 24, 2015
John Hill, Providence Journal: On Tuesday morning, two dozen inmates filed into the cafeteria at the John J. Moran Medium Security Prison. There were 13 dogs in the room with them.
But the dogs weren’t there to guard the inmates; the inmates were there because they train the dogs.
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The Boston Globe: Princeton nonprofit sells stuffed marathon service dogs

January 29, 2015
Sacha Pfeiffer, The Boston Globe: In need of a ‘Rescue’? Nonprofits are always on the hunt for new revenue, and some of them dabble in retail to bring in extra money.

Think museum gift shops or online stores selling coffee mugs and note cards. Now NEADS, a Princeton, Mass., nonprofit that trains service dogs, wants to bolster its fledgling retail operation — and, if history repeats itself, the item it’s selling won’t stay in stock for long.

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WCVB-TV: Service dogs Jake, Rossi Boy named after fallen firefighters

July 23, 2014
Two service dogs-in-training have been named after two Boston firefighters who lost their lives in a Back Bay fire earlier this year.

NEADS, a nonprofit organization based in Princeton, Mass., will hold a special event Thursday at the Engine 33, Ladder 15 Firehouse in Boston to honor Lt. Edward Walsh and firefighter Michael Kennedy, who died in March.

Walsh's widow, Kristen Walsh, and Kennedy's mother, Kathy Crosby-Bell, will have the opportunity to meet the two dogs that they have each been named in honor of the fallen men.

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NPR: Service Dog Guides Marathon Bombing Victims Through A Grim Year

April 20, 2014
Sacha Pfeiffer, NPR -- All Things Considered: At Monday's Boston Marathon, many runners will be on the course to honor the 16 people who lost limbs in last year's bombing. One married couple was among them: Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes. Among many dark stories of that day, theirs is among the darkest. They were newlyweds of just seven months when each had their left leg blown off. Their injuries were so severe that they were some of the last victims to leave the hospital. But we want to tell you an encouraging part of their story. It involves an 80-pound black Labrador retriever named Rescue who is specially trained as a Service Dog by NEADS. Full Story

MSNBC: How Boston marathon bombing survivors celebrated Valentine’s Day

February 17, 2014
Claire Kim, MSNBC: Two survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings celebrated Valentine’s Day in a very special way at Copley Place, near the site of the attack last April. Jessica Kensky enlisted the help of an organization called NEADS to plan a surprise for her husband Patrick Downes. The couple stood near the finish line when the bombs went off during the marathon and were seriously injured.
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The Boston Globe: Nonprofit reaches out to bombing victims with an offer of service dogs

November 2, 2013
Sharron Kahn Luttrell, The Boston Globe: Since the Boston Marathon bombings, Jessica Kensky and her husband, Patrick Downes, have been grappling with the enormity of all they have lost. The attack cost each a leg, casting the young couple into a nightmarish world of trauma and recovery and shattering their plan to move to the West Coast, where Downes had accepted a pre-doctoral internship in clinical psychology. But late last month, the flow of loss was offset a bit when the couple gained something: a young, black Labrador retriever named Rescue.
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The Boston Globe: Service dogs barred, doubted, and deeply treasured

September 18, 2013
Beth Teitell, The Boston Globe: When Kevin Lambert’s service dog, a black Lab named Ronnie, senses he’s in a funk, she plunks her head down in his lap or sometimes climbs right onto it, all 65 pounds of her. When they’re out together, she sticks by the Army vet’s side, helping to keep his post traumatic stress disorder at bay, and makes him feel less alone.
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Milford Daily News: Mendon mom shares details of her Weekends

August 25, 2013
Julia Spitz, Milford Daily News: A suburban mom and a prisoner team up to turn a yellow Lab puppy into a faithful service dog. If you think that sounds like a great idea for a movie, you're not alone. CBS Films optioned the rights before "Weekends with Daisy'' was even written. The film might not be coming to a theater near you until 2015 or 2016, but the book by Mendon author Sharron Kahn Luttrell is being released next month. And if you think the movie plot synopsis tells you all you need to know about the book, think again.
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The Atlantic: The Fight for Service Dogs for Veterans With PTSD

September 26, 2012
Rebecca Ruiz, The Atlantic: When it comes to treating veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, no intervention regularly receives as glowing reviews as service dogs. The use of service dogs to treat PTSD is new, though, and many of the findings at this point are anecdotal. Many veterans had eagerly hoped a pioneering study conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs would buttress their personal experiences with science that could support implementing widespread therapeutic use.
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Worcester Magazine: Caring for those with NEADS

August 18, 2010

Doreen Manning, Worcester Magazine: Everyday skills. Extraordinary independence. That is just one of the mottos of NEADS, a local agency that has been providing assistance dogs for deaf and disabled Americans for more than 30 years – right here in greater Worcester. Full Story

NEADS in the News