Christy Gardner, founder and president of Mission Working Dogs, trained service dogs and therapy dogs for more than ten years but wanted to grow that dream to help more Mainers in need. Mission Working Dogs was founded in July 2020 as a local non-profit to do just that. The organization serves to train service dogs and therapy dogs for the local community and provides a wide range of assistance, from individual service animals to therapy dogs, who are specifically trained to provide comfort and love in community settings such as hospitals, nursing homes and schools. Join us as we welcome Christy, some of MWD’s dogs, and their handlers to learn about the organization’s history and goals and the experience of training purpose-bred dogs to aid individuals with disabilities in living a more independent life.