Center reflects on past, present, and future endeavors
[August 22, 2017; Philadelphia, PA] – The Penn Vet Working Dog Center, widely recognized as the nation’s premier research and training facility dedicated to the health and performance of detection dogs, will celebrate its five-year anniversary on Sunday, September 10, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. Located at 3401 Grays Ferry Avenue, Philadelphia, the ceremony will take place at the Pennovation Center, with live demonstrations held at the Working Dog Center.
During the ceremony, speakers will include Penn Vet Dean Joan Hendricks; Dr. Cindy Otto, Executive Director of the Working Dog Center; and Maureen Rush, Vice President for Public Safety at Penn.
Also scheduled to speak:
A.T. Charlie Johnson – Penn School of Arts & Sciences, collaborating on ovarian cancer detection research
Denise Corliss – member of Texas Task Force 1 and owner/handler of Bretagne, the last surviving search dog deployed to the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks, who died last summer
Ricardo St. Hilaire, Esq. – Red Arch Cultural Heritage Law & Policy Research, collaborating on an antiquities detection study
Meghan Ramos – Fourth-year Penn Vet student
Hugh Allen – Senior Director of Commonwealth Relations, Penn Office of Government and Community Affairs
Simon Blanchard – Canine Hander Academy representative
Author and educator Alexandra Horowitz will host and interview the speakers. Horowitz wrote “Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know” and heads the Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab. She teaches seminars in canine cognition and creative nonfiction writing at Barnard College, Columbia University.
Demonstrations will feature live search exercises at the Working Dog Center's rubble field, vehicular searches, agility, law enforcement apprehension exercise, and fitness/fit to work.
“It is hard to believe that just five years ago we were embarking on a little experiment to see if we could create a research and training center for detection dogs,” said Dr. Cindy Otto. “Now, the Penn Vet Working Dog Center is widely recognized as a national resource for research, education, and care of working dogs, and we feel great pride that some of our incredible graduates are working to keep our country healthy and safe.”
Future Endeavors
Looking to the next five years, the Working Dog Center envisions becoming a National Center of Excellence for Detection Dogs, extending the reach of research collaborations and education, and continuing to discover new knowledge to support working dogs.
In addition, the Working Dog Center plans to establish a national working dog breeding cooperative, in an effort to find solutions to the challenge of ensuring the availability of the healthiest and most effective detection dogs to serve our country.
About the Penn Vet Working Dog Center
Opened on September 11, 2012, the Penn Vet Working Dog Center is the nation’s premier research and training facility dedicated to harnessing the unique strengths of our canine partners and producing an elite group of scent-detection dogs for public safety and health. For more information, visit www.pennvetwdc.org.