New School Aims to Get Veterans, Rescue Dogs Back on Their Feet

(KNSI) – A new vocational school hopes to heal humans and pets as planning continues for an official kickoff event later this fall.

Founded by Amie Schwinghammer, the Heroes K9 Odyssey Academy is currently based at the Eagle’s Nest facility in Sauk Centre. The organization bills itself as a second chance for veterans and first responders dealing with PTSD, drug and alcohol abuse issues, and other problems.

They would enroll in a 12-to 16-week course and be paired with a rescue dog, where the basics of obedience training and other careers working with animals would be taught. Schwinghammer stresses the class is far more complicated than being a pal to man’s best friend.

She says, “We give the humans skills and knowledge about working with dogs, whether it be grooming or training or vet tech, anything that we can to open avenues up for them.”

The animals will be trained to American Kennel Club certification, referred to as CGC, or the Canine Good Citizen test. Schwinghammer illustrates the concept with a real world example. The certification wants to see if the animal would be comfortable enough sitting outside on the patio of a business with crowds walking by while their owner enjoys a coffee or ice cream cone.

Schwinghammer doubles down on the academy being a serious project with a multistep process to enroll students. She stresses, “Our interview process for getting into the program is an essay. They have to answer five questions, and then it’s a panel review, and then it’s the three-person panel interview. So, we’re going to talk about, ‘make sure you understand what you’re jumping into.'”

The classes will not have tuition. The plan is to fund it through nonprofit donations. Schwinghammer is currently using the Eagle’s Nest, but she has already drawn up schematics for her own place, which could be ready as soon as next year. On top of classes being paid for, room and board would also be covered if the vision becomes reality. “We have also started opening up the opportunity to be a board and lodge facility. If they have veterans’ benefits, their housing would be paid for through the VA.”

To keep the momentum going, Schwinghammer has two big events scheduled over the next nine months. The first is in November. “We have our kickoff coming November 1st. That is out at [the] Waite Park Pavilion. We have David’s Kitchen and Betty’s Shrimp Truck coming to serve us food. We have live music, Bryce Hegge coming to play. We have a beanbag tournament.”

The outdoor activities are weather dependent, given the date. Schwinghammer is quick to point out that if the event gets too big or the snow begins to fall, there is a backup plan to move it inside at the Ultimate Sports Bar.

Next March, a gala will feature a keynote speech from Matthew Beisner, a star of the hit reality show “Dog: Impossible.”

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