Canadiens to foster a Mira puppy
The Canadiens are getting a new puppy. The club announced on Wednesday that it is teaming with the Mira Foundation to become the foster family to a Saint-Pierre Labernese puppy for one year. The Canadiens will be responsible for socializing the puppy under Mira’s guidelines to become a future guide dog or service dog. Since its creation in 1981, Mira has provided more than 3,000 people with guide and service dogs to help with their disabilities. For the next year, the Canadiens’ puppy will undergo basic obedience training, as well as social and environmental stimulation. The puppy will be allowed in the team offices and will also be at the Bell Centre during games. The puppy will live with a Canadiens front-office employee for the next year. After that, the puppy will be returned to Mira for evaluation to decide which program will be a best fit. The dog will then undergo three to six months of more training, depending on which program it is put in. The Canadiens are following the lead of the St. Louis Blues, who this season partnered with Duo — a non-profit organization that specializes in training service dogs — to adopt a yellow Labrador retriever puppy for the season. Once that dog has completed his 18-month training and qualifies for certification, Duo will find his best fit as a service dog. The Blues asked fans to submit names for their new puppy online and the name Barclay was chosen. The Canadiens are asking fans to submit names for their new puppy online at nhl.com/canadiens/community/habs-puppy. “Everyone in the organization is happy and excited to participate in this initiative,” Geneviève Paquette, vice-president of community engagement for the Canadiens, said in a news release. “This is an extraordinary opportunity to raise awareness and educate our colleagues and the public on the challenges of independence, accessibility and social integration of people with disabilities. The work that Mira does is remarkable and we welcome the chance to contribute in our own way.” Said Nicolas St-Pierre, general manager of the Mira Foundation: “We consider it a privilege to count on the support of the Montreal Canadiens organization and are thrilled to witness the great enthusiasm generated by this team project.”