Healing Heart
Christine Merle is a part-time veterinarian and full-time animal lover, so adding ‘Indiana Canine Assistant Network (ICAN) Volunteer’ to her list of passions was the perfect fit for her.
She learned about ICAN’s mission when she worked for Elanco, then a division of Eli Lilly, where she participated in Lilly’s “Global Day of Service.” At the time, Christine tacked on “volunteering with ICAN” to her list of things to participate in in the future.
When the time was right, she would begin furloughing.
Fast forward six years to August 2023: Christine kept her promise to herself. She completed the Foundations class for new volunteers and picked up her first furlough dog, Tara, just one week later.
Since then, she has become a regular volunteer, currently working with her third service dog in training, with plans to host another soon.
As a veterinarian, Christine can provide a variety of unique environments and experiences for the ICAN dogs in training.
At her practice, her furlough dogs practice settling in a crate while people and pets come and go from the busy veterinary clinic. While on the other hand, Christine occasionally works from home, so the dogs in training also practice laying calmly in her quiet home office. “With my experience in caring for animals, I understand that every dog is different. It helps me quickly adapt to the changes of furloughing,” she explained.
Christine also enjoys taking the ICAN dogs to meet her horse, Whimsy. The dogs are able to practice being calm and composed around Whimsy and are even able to use the indoor sand arena as a personal park for additional playtime and training.
Beyond being an animal lover, what truly fuels Christine’s commitment to volunteering with ICAN is the knowledge that she has a special part in each dog’s training.
“It’s so rewarding to be part of a dog’s journey and know that you had some influence on making them an amazing service dog,” she said.
You too can make a difference in the lives of Hoosiers by training a dog for someone in need. If you’d like to help unleash possibilities, contact ICAN Volunteer and Education Manager Julie Mathias at juliem@icandog.org.
