Our Facility Dog, Peaches

Peaches is a 4 Year old Bernadoodle that belongs to our Office Manager, Mikayla.

She is the gentlest of giants!

She is a trained Therapy Service dog that volunteers with special needs children, but she is also our public facility dog and trained to greet everyone gently. She is often seen greeting people at the front door or laying around the arena by the front desk. Every so often she will do her rounds to make sure everyone in the building is doing good and provide support where it's needed.

We understand that some people have serious fears of dogs, have religious reasons to avoid dogs, or are being accompanied by service dogs that have strict No Face-to-Face Dog Interactions in Public rules. If this is the case, please make staff aware and we will keep her in the office until you leave!

We want to respect everyone! :)

Q: How much does she weigh?

A: She fluctuates between 75 and 85 lbs

Q: Does she shed?

A: Not really. She has hair, not fur, so her hair never stops growing, but when her hair grows longer she gets hair breakage (the same way us humans do). She is also considered Hypoallergenic because of this. It's important to note however, while she doesn't shed and is low maintenance in the dog-hair cleanup aspect, she does require regular professional grooming to keep up with her continuous hair growth.

Q: How is she so calm and gentle when working in such a chaotic place?!

A: The most important factor is that she exercises before work, and she will take a zoomie break along the side of the building halfway through her shift on longer days. But she has also been coming here her whole life and has been properly conditioned to not fear the things that would scare dogs who otherwise aren't conditioned. Another key factor to point out is her natural temperament paired with lifelong training. Yes, she is naturally calmer than a dog like a German Shepard, but she also has been trained to be gentle from the start of her life in preparation for her large size. She does gets zoomies and can be an absolute bulldozer when she wants, but due to consistent training she knows there is a time and place, and she knows when there's people in the building it's not the time, and anywhere in the building that's not the turff field is not the place.

Q: What's wrong with her eye?

A: Peaches has heterochromia on her 3rd eyelid. (That means they're different colors.) Prominent 3rd lids are common in Bernese Mountain dogs, she inherited that from her Bernese parent. For her specifically, one is brown and one is pink, the brown one blends in with her normal eye color so it's less noticeable and makes her pink one stand out and look strange. She doesn't have pink eye or a disease, she's just born unique. :)

Q: Does she bark?

A: Yes, actually she will often bark at the first people who enter the building. However, all she is doing is alerting her mom that people are here now. She might sound serious or scary, but truth is she is a gentle giant with a not so gentle bark. Once she says Hi to you and her mom acknowledges that people have entered the building, her barking is done. There are also a handful of people she will sometimes bark at regardless of when they enter simple because she is too excited to see those select few people, but once they say hi, she is done.

Q: Does she ever get overwhelmed and bite?

A: NO! If Peaches is feeling overwhelmed or unsure of something, she will either go find her mommy to guide her through the situation, or she will hide in her bed under her Mommy's desk or under the front desk where she knows she is safe. She is VERY good at this and has NEVER reacted to anyone with violence.

Q: My child/self would seriously benefit from having a trained service dog! Do you have any recommendations?

A: Yes! I HIGHLY Recommend Phoenix Assistance Dogs of Central PA, Located in the Lititz area. They have a Facebook Page, as well as a Website: Phoenix Assistance Dogs of Central PA

They are also always looking for puppy raisers and volunteers! Please reach out to them if you are interested in helping out. Let them know Peaches sent you ;)