In Memory of Gail Dubrick
This holiday season National Service Dogs was very sad to learn of the passing of Gail Dubrick. Gail's contributions to NSD over the years have been instrumental in the development of NSD's lab breeding program.
Gail's beautiful labs have fathered numerous litters of NSD puppies over the years and numerous puppies have been donated to our program. Some of our more memorable Geneva Dogs are:
Maggie - our Dog with Jobs Star
Archie - our W5 Dog Star
Raven - loving friend to Kyle
Bobby - loving friend to Bryan
Monty - loving friend to Jacob and Mara
Roscoe - loving friend to Dawson
Gail's love of dogs, dedication and generosity was greatly appreciated by the NSD team and without her we would not have been able to expand our program as rapidly as we did. She will be greatly missed by everyone. My sincerest sympathies to her family and friends,
Danielle Forbes, Co-Founder and the NSD Family.
From Allison:
"Gail was such a valuable mentor to me while I ran NSD's breeding and puppy program. Gail's contributions to NSD were endless and she was my go to person if I had questions about breeding Labradors for our autism program. I wish I could thank her for all of her knowledge, kindness, patience and generosity over the years. I can only hope she knew how much she was appreciated and well respected by all of us at NSD. Her knowledge and expertise in breeding Labradors will be remembered by NSD and live on through our autism program, as many of our Labradors are descendants of Geneva Labradors in some way."
-Allison Savard, Senior Trainer, National Service Dogs
From Chris and Heather :
"It is with great sorrow that I say good-bye to a friend, a mentor and a supporter. I would like to thank Gail and Jim Dubrick of Geneva Kennels for all of their support and generosity to National Service Dogs over the past 11 years.
Heather and I had met one of Gail's dogs named Baden just as we were starting NSD. We were just in the process of training our first dog named Shade and Baden was very similar in personality and temperament to Shade. Shortly after meeting that dog, Heather and I went to meet with Gail. Gail was such a wealth of knowledge and her passion for breeding quality Labrador retrievers was second to none!!!
I would like to thank Gail for the guidance she has given not only to Heather and I, but to staff and volunteers of National Service Dogs as well.
Gail, you will be missed by National Service Dogs!!!!"
Chris and Heather Fowler
Co Founders, National Service Dogs
From Chris McArthur:
"I would just like to thank Gail for the great breeding seminar she facilitated for potential NSD breeders. She was very helpful and encouraging and she portrayed a person who truly enjoyed the whole breeding process and her great love for dogs. Gail was very willing to help us breeders at any time day or night and her generosity of many puppies donated was greatly appreciated."
Chris McArthur
Treasurer, National Service Dogs
NSD's Breeding Program
NSD aquires dogs in two different ways:
1. From NSD's own breeding lines:
NSD has had 6 generations of Service Dogs since the organization's inception in 1996. "Melody", "Keesha" and "Olacia" are our some of our retired female Golden Retrievers, and "Quincee" is our retired female Lab. Carrying on the torch are Abbey, Keera, Jemma and Ginger to name a few. The dogs chosen for our breeding program have the following traits:
* Stable temperament
* Past generations clear of hip and eye problems
* Eager disposition, like to perform and learn new things
* Low energy level
* Intelligence and adaptability
Labs and Golden's are ideal service dogs due to their stable personality traits and history of excellent service trainability.
2. Donations from other Breeders
NSD has support from many breeders across Canada who have generously donated puppies to our program. NSD also works with other assistance dog providers, sharing puppies and breeding dogs in order to keep our breeding program stable
