Canine Companions celebrates Yappy Hour with their national CEO

Bay Shore’s Kismet Coffee welcomed nonprofit Canine Companions for a “Paws & Pours: Yappy Hour” event last week. CEO of Canine Companions Paige Mazzoni was the honored special guest of the night, where she shed a spotlight on the recent growth the nonprofit has experienced.

Overlooking locations across the country, Mazzoni has spearheaded the way forward for Canine Companions. Currently, she is focused on meeting the rising demands for service dogs.

“The service dog industry is growing, and the recognition of the work these dogs do is growing.

So the demand for our service dogs is greater than ever. So we are doing everything we can to keep our waitlist in check, which means we’re producing more dogs, we’re training more dogs here on Long Island,” Mazzoni explained. A major factor in this growth has been the expansion of the Northeast Training Center in Medford. By adding more kennels and dormitories, the greater capacity will enable Canine Companions to train more dogs.

Local volunteers and their pups were invited to celebrate as well during the “Yappy Hour”.

These volunteers are a cornerstone of the entire nonprofit to Mazzoni, raising these pups so they can help others in need. Growing this volunteer pool is another goal for the group, and one way they’re working on it is through spreading awareness.

“What we’re really working on is explaining to people that helping us raise a puppy or transporter dog are all steps into changing someone’s life,” Mazzoni shared.

The most rewarding part of leading Canine Companions to Mazzoni is all about helping others.

“I think the most rewarding thing about being able to grow and get more dogs to more people is, every day, we change more lives. And we serve children and veterans, and people with hearing loss, and people with type 1 diabetes, and so many different categories of people. And being able to grow and help more people is just, it’s an amazing ripple effect.

It’s more goodness in the world,” Mazzoni said.

Kismet Coffee’s owner Jackson Davis has kept a close connection to Canine Companions due to how their service dog, Feathers, helped his late brother, Nick, at just 5 years old.

“I was 2 years old when my brother got his service dog, so for me, my entire life, it was just what I was used to. So I kind of grew up with Canine Companions. And they’ve always just been a part of my life and I’ve tried to take any opportunity I can to involve them with the work that I’m doing,” Davis shared. Holding Coffee and Canines events to raise awareness about the organization led him to the idea for the Yappy Hour.

With customers pouring in to meet the friendly pups—as well as the people that raise and train them—the night was a hit for Kismet Coffee and Canine Companions.