Service dogs have a nose for Easter eggs at 25th anniversary event

Calgarians brought their furry friends to Calaway Park Friday morning for a special Easter egg hunt for dogs aimed at empowering children with autism along with first responders and veterans living with post-traumatic stress.

The event invited families to collect more than 7,500 eggs filled with special dog treats with all of the proceeds going to support local National Service Dogs programs.

National Service Dogs chair Alison Archambault said this year’s 25th anniversary is a testament to the importance of raising critical awareness for families in need of support.

“Independence looks different for everyone and National Service Dogs has been training specially trained dogs from birth right through until they deploy with their families and then supporting their families on a going forward basis," she said.

“We make sure the dogs are providing intervention support, safety support and getting them through their days in ways that are important to them.”

The event is especially important for eight-year-old Zali Jackson and her service dog in training named Hrafn.

As an autistic child, she doesn’t like loud noises, but she also has epilepsy and a history of absence seizures causing her to blank out or stare into space.

Kids hunting for eggs with dogs at Callaway Park, April 7, 2023

She previously had difficulty concentrating at school, but Hrafn has helped improve her confidence and her quality of life.

“She helps me with my seizures, she sleeps with me and she goes everywhere with me,” said Jackson.

“I was able to go down a water slide with her for the first time and even go swimming with her, to the doctor, and even to school with her.”

Other attendees of the event like Doug Provost brought along his six-year-old dog named Minnie to show support for veterans suffering from PTSD.

“Both my brothers have PTSD from serving in Bosnia, in Haiti, and what they go through, and what dogs have done in their lives is incredible,” Provost said.

“The dogs help calm them down and make them more understanding of other people and it really helped them a lot to come back to the real world as I would say, because what they went through is unimaginable.”

National Service Dogs Canada has raised more than $30,000 through Easter egg hunt events across the country with more donations coming in throughout the weekend.