Written by Haley Forgacs
Hannah Zandee is currently a third-year student studying Linguistics at Queen’s and plans to pursue a Master’s degree in Speech Pathology post-undergrad. In September of 2020, Hannah began thinking about the impact of COVID-19 on the Queen’s and Kingston community.Hannah has spent her summers volunteering at a hippotherapy clinic, which uses the movement of a horse as a form of physical, occupational, and speech therapy, as well as worked as a dog walker for several years. Her work in the hippotherapy clinic and as a dog walker led her to the decision that she wanted to combine her two passions, help a non-profit organization struggling during the pandemic, and ultimately make a difference in the Queen’s community. Megan MacGillivray is also a third-year student at Queen’s majoring in Linguistics with a minor in Health Studies. Megan is looking to pursue a career in Speech Language Pathology post-undergrad. She is passionate about working with persons with disabilities and is working towards her disability certificate. Megan completed a course this past summer titled “Foundations for Understanding Disability”, which had a significant impact on her views of disability. Megan has also been involved with dogs, as her mom founded and has run a dog- sitting business since she was young. Her mom’s business has allowed Megan to gain experience training and caring for dogs.
Naturally, Hannah and Megan make a great team. Their diverse knowledge and experiences allow both Co-Presidents to actively engage in making a difference in the Queen’s and Kingston community through education and activism.
Why did you decide to start Queens4Paws?
Hannah: It really was a shock to me that Queen’s didn’t already have a club supporting service dogs, and so I decided to do the next best thing, which was to start my own club! I am so incredibly passionate about this project, as I understand how needed service animals are in our community. Without organizations, such as Kingston 4 Paws, it would be incredibly difficult for families to afford a service dog.
Megan: The inspiration for wanting to create Queen’s 4 Paws was my passion for working with persons with disabilities, and my aspiration to pursue a career in Speech-Language Pathology. Advocating for persons with disabilities and the importance of service dogs are fundamental but is far too often overlooked. It is so important to me that we are always working towards a more equitable society, and the very first step towards that is being educated on these topics. In addition to raising awareness, by supporting the non-profit, Kingston 4 Paws Service Dogs, we are aiding in raising funds to raise, train and allocate service dogs to those in need. Especially during these unprecedented times, due to Covid, an organization that provides so much for our community, deserves as much help as possible.
What are your goals for the club?
Hannah: Our club is only just getting started, and when I take a moment to reflect on what I
wish for the future, I truly want our club to be involved within the Kingston community. By this, I mean that I want our team to work closely with those who have first-hand experience with service dogs. One of the big aspects of our club is raising money, however, I do not want Queen’s 4 Paws to become an absent donor. I want us to make a real connection within the community and to have all of our members involved as much as possible. As well, it is of great importance to me that our club is able to help the students of Queen’s. By working with K4Paws and bringing Canine Assisted Intervention dogs to campus, it offers students an opportunity to relieve stress by hanging out with and petting these working dogs. Students work very hard throughout the year and often forget to take a second to de-stress; we have an opportunity to help and therefore it is important to me that we do just that.
Megan: In only a few months Queen’s 4 Paws has developed into an incredible club that offers resources to students concerning disability, funds to support our community and a space for like-minded individuals at Queen’s to come together and make a difference! As Hannah and I are in our third year and graduating in 2022, we need a strong team of individuals who are as passionate as we are and can further prosper this club, long after we’re gone! We only have enough time to lay out the foundation, so I hope that the future co-presidents and executive members can continue to reflect our aspirations for this club and honour its roots. I hope that the future Queen’s 4 Paws team can continue to successfully expand the club, without altering its purpose.
What are you looking forward to this semester with Queens4Paws? What should
members be excited about or expecting this year?
Hannah: As we are starting our first full semester as an organized club, I am really looking
forward to working with our club members, those on our executive team, and K4Paws to start raising awareness and advocating for those who have service dogs. We finished last semester with our first ever fundraising event, and I truly cannot thank the members of our team enough for helping to make it so successful. I am really excited to focus on advocating and start some educational events.
Megan: Due to the fact that we just started Queen’s 4 Paws as an organized club, in the fall 2020, we had to prioritize the things we needed to accomplish first. The most influential thing we completed within our very first semester of being a club was our Holiday Raffle, in which we raised over $1600! As we’ve focused on our fundraising events, the thing I’m most excited about this semester is the advocating aspect of the club, consisting of our educational conferences! We collaborate with professionals specializing in certain aspects of disability in order to deliver educational content to Queen’s students. We also collaborate with individuals willing to speak on their personal experiences with disability and/or service dogs in order to give insight on their perspective. Additional things to be excited about is the creation of the Queen’s 4 Paws website which is set to be published by the end of this school year, and some really fun stickers which we’ll be selling this semester as well, so look out for them!
What is something you think people should know about the club or about service dogs in
general?
Hannah: I still personally have a lot more to learn about service dogs, but I think that it is very
important for people to know just how successful and independent individuals become when they receive a service animal. They can be used for an abundance of reasons, including being a guide dog for those who are blind, a medical alert dog, a psychiatric service dog, and these are only a few of the specific jobs. I always tell people to think about their own family dog, that has not undergone any sort of therapy training. How has your own dog helped you when you are dealing with stress? Dogs’ natural instinct is to comfort humans and for this reason they make for great animals to be of service to those that may need a little extra help to become more independent in society.
Megan: As an advocate for persons with disabilities, I think it’s essential for people to know that every individual is different, and so is every service dog. What makes service dogs so special is that they endure extensive training in order to comply with every need in which their person expects from them. There are guide dogs who are trained to aid individuals who are blind or visually impaired, hearing dogs who are trained to aid individuals who are hard of hearing, service dogs who are trained to aid individuals with a range of disabilities, canine assisted intervention dogs who are trained to aid individuals with mental health, addiction, physical therapy, etc. Within every dog’s job description, there are so many additional skills in which they must master that are specific to the person they are supporting. A tip for proper etiquette is that an individual’s service dog is an extension of their body, just as a wheelchair is for an individual needing it for mobility. We are always inclined to want to pet a dog we see in public, they’re just so cute, but ensure to read the situation and the dog’s service jacket for instructions on whether or not to interact with them. They’re always on the job and serve a crucial role in the safety of their person, so they should not be interrupted, unless otherwise stated! If you’re unsure, simply ask the person, they usually don’t mind.
Be sure to stay up to date with Queen’s 4 Paws by following us on social media and keeping an eye out for exciting fundraisers and events coming up in the near future!
