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Team Hope

Meet Hope! 

Hope with DSU owner Jenny Falvey.

About Hope:

Hope is a Golden Retriever that will be privately trained by a dedicated team at Dogsmartz Unleashed to serve as a comfort dog to assist victims and witnesses of crimes for the Mahoning County Prosecutor, Gina DeGenova.

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Hope was rescued on Christmas Eve by the Healthy Hearts and Paws Project and was later adopted by Gena DeGenova on February 3, 2023.

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Jenny, the owner of Dogsmartz Unleashed, is donating the time to training her in order to make her a certified comfort dog.

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"Often times, victims and witnesses of crimes are asked to relive stories of traumatic events multiple times during the pendency of a given case. My research has shown that comfort dogs successfully provide support during this stressful process."

-Gina DeGenova

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Follow Hope's journey on Instagram: @hopethecomfortdog

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Hope in the News:

Initial Story - WKBN

Hope Updates

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3/6/23 - Hope's first day of school!

Hope started her formal training with DSU on 3/6/23. She met some (not all) of the amazing trainers that will make up her training team.

Pictured from let to right: Karen Becker, Jenny Falvey, Carla Pacalo, Amber Nmergut, Hope, & Sam Ragan.
3/13/23 - Training Session with Sam
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3/8/23 - Training Session with Amber

Hope worked on so many great things with Amber! They worked on "walk it" and "step up," utilizing different surfaces. She also worked on "touch" and "check it out."
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