Couple volunteers to raise service dogs.
 
Thunderbolt sat quietly at the head table, but little did the Rotary club know, he was hard at work, and multitasking at that.
The service dog in training is just one that Nick and Jaki Waggamon have raised as volunteers for 4 Paws for Ability, a nonprofit group providing service dogs for children and veterans worldwide since 1998.
Nick, son of Rotarian Rebecca Waggamon, and Jaki had two dogs with them when they spoke to Rotary Monday, demonstrating their role in raising dogs from puppies and training them to help children with disabilities.
Thunderbolt was practicing skills he’ll need if he is to “graduate” from the program, Jaki Waggamon said. Rotary’s weekly and typical actions, such as clapping, saying the Pledge of Allegiance, were good training moments for the dog.
The Waggamons, both graduates of Elida High School and Ohio Northern University, have volunteered for five years with the program. Service dogs are different than therapy dogs in that they are trained for specific tasks and jobs. Volunteers start with simple commands and obedience training, and they then move to more advanced training. If a dog graduates as a service animal, it is placed with a client. If not, the dog is adopted out.
Dogs are trained to help clients with mobility, hearing, seizure alerts and autism. About 90 percent of the dogs go to children, and about 10 percent to veterans. The science is catching up to how service dogs help, Jaki Waggamon said. 4 Paws volunteers know what they see and hear from families about how a dog helps a child with autism, for example, with behavior control and socialization. Scientists who study such things are just beginning to understand why and how the animals help.
To learn more about 4 Paws, visit www.4pawsforability.org, or find them on Facebook.
In other Rotary business:
President Dave Frost introduced a new Lima Rotary project, little free libraries, that have been built by Lima Senior High School carpentry students. The club will maintain 10 of the libraries around the county, in a push to help increase reading and access to books for adults and children.
Rotary is partnering with the city of Lima Parks Department for five of the libraries, to be placed at Robb Park, Faurot Park, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park, Lincoln Park, and near the gazebo on Town Square. A sixth will be placed at the Lima Salvation Army and four are to be determined.
Frost said the club will collect books through April at Rotary meetings and members should bring both children’s and adult books.
Ken Dysert, Cat Sarno, and Jed Metzger were elected to the Rotary executive board. Dr. Jeff Unterbrink, Andy Wannemacher, and Linda Hamilton were elected to the Lima Rotary Foundation board.
Rottery proceeds through the first quarter raised $1,006 for the Polio Plus campaign. The overall goal for Polio Plus was $6,000 this year, and the Lima Rotary Club far succeeded that, raising $11,098.99.