Jewel as a puppy in foster care
Jewel’s story is a bit of a Cinderella tale. She came from humble beginnings, surrendered in 2020 along with her mother and siblings to one of our partner shelters in the Central Valley. Fortunately, she and her family were brought to HSSV through the Sue and John Diekman Regional Rescue program, helping to ease the burden on the under-resourced shelter they came from, and giving them a second chance at a better life.
Jewel was cared for in a volunteer foster home until she was old enough to be adopted. It was then that the adorable black and tan pup caught Vicki’s eye, and it was love at first sight.
Jewel was in luck – Vicki, who is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, teaches obedience and sports classes at HSSV and has been working with dogs since the early 90s. Over the last three years, she has trained Jewel to compete in odor detection sports including nose work, trailing and locating, antler shed and lost item recovery.
Jewel with her Level 3 Title Ribbon
Vicki reached out recently to let us know that earlier this month, Jewel earned her ‘Lost Item Level 3’ title from the North American Sport Dog Association – a distinction held by only 25 other dogs in the US or Canada. She is only the third mixed breed dog to obtain this honor!
Jewel is currently on her way toward earning her Lost Item Recovery Master Championship title (currently only 13 dogs have earned this). Only one other mixed breed dog has earned this title so far. Jewel’s accomplishments are rare, and that is not lost on Vicki. “I want to thank the Adoptions Team at HSSV,” she writes, “for sending such a fabulous dog home with me.”
Some of Jewel’s Title Ribbons
Jewel and Vicki’s success emphasizes a valuable truth – when it comes to dog training, everyone wins. You and your dog don’t have to be superstars to benefit from training, either – both obedience and sports classes help to strengthen the bond between dog and handler. Training is also a stimulating form of enrichment for any dog – an opportunity to engage with their humans and employ their natural instincts and drives in a positive way.
Did you know both obedience and sports classes are offered at Humane Society Silicon Valley? We use force-free, reward-based methods and proven effective training solutions for dogs of all ages and talents. Learn more and sign up here.
4 Comments on “Jewel is a Rare Diamond”
We adopted a dog from HSSV during Covid. He was in pretty bad shape but has come a very long way. Because of Covid we were unable to take advantage of the training offered to us. Freddie, now known as Edy, has some behavioral issues that we haven’t had any luck changing . We need help and I was wondering if we are able to take advantage of that training offer?
Hi Tammy – please use the link below to reach out to our Training folks directly and we’ll see what we can do to help!
https://hssvorg.zohodesk.com/portal/en/newticket?departmentId=725739000000189227&layoutId=725739000000197696
Remarkable story. Jewel was indeed a rare find. I fully support and appreciate the role of HSSV in making such adoptions and stories possible. As your article states, every pet and pet owner is a winner. So many people are struggling financially to adopt and keep pets. Thanks to all of your generous donors and God bless HSSV and all of the other animal organizations that provide so many critical services.
Congratulations to Jewel and Tammy! We took obedience level one with Tammy and she brought Jewel to class and even had her demonstrate some steps. Highly recommend the training at HSSV.