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Who we are
Who we are | What we do
Suzanne Crowther - General Manager
She started her career in finance after gaining her qualification as a full member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants - CA. In the past 10 years she has held senior Human Resource and Commercial Manager Roles within Carter Holt Harvey Limited. During this time she also gained considerable experience in most aspects of the business. "I am excited about the opportunity to work with and be part of such a worthwhile charity. Everyone involved is extremely dedicated and have already achieved wonderful successes for Mobility Dogs. I look forward to being able to the lead the way to enhance the lives of many more New Zealanders living with a long-term physical disability through the provision of trained assistance dogs."
Helen Spence - Sponsorship Manager
With a background in Psychology B Sc (Hons) and Market Research I have primarily focused on raising the profile of Mobility Dogs and the development of our promotional material, website and quarterly 'Wags' newsletter. Over the past year Ambassadog 'Chance' & I have taken on a number of speaking engagements to clubs, schools and business organisations. My passion for Mobility Dogs comes not so much from a love of dogs but from witnessing first hand the tremendous difference a mobility dog makes to the life of a person living with long term physical disability. I am determined that the physically disabled community of New Zealand continue to benefit from this service. I was appointed as the Sponsorship Manager in March 2008 and through my endeavours seek full sponsorships for puppies coming on board our Canine Development Programme. A full sponsorship of a puppy is $25,000 over a two year period. Obviously I am always delighted to hear from people who can help us financially in whatever way they can. No donation is too small! $25,000 is the equivalent of approximately 33 individuals - or branches of a business - making a donation of $1/day for two years. Please contact me helen.spence@mobilitydogs.co.nz Jody Hogan - Funds/Grants Coordinator/Puppies in Prison Manager
I have a long held interest in disability issues and I have framed my academic work (Biological/Social Anthropology and Social Science for Public Health) to explore many aspects of disability. It seems like a natural extension to be working for Mobility Dogs - bringing together both my interest in disability on a theoretical level and now, working with people whose reality is the lived experience of disability. My daughter Amy ha been recently matched with her service dog 'Bonnie'. After experiencing first hand the difference 'Bonnie' has made to Amy's life, my passion now is to ensure we get more dogs out there to those that need them. The Puppies in Prisons (PIP) programme is another aspect of Mobility Dogs that I find particularly interesting and challenging. We now have the opportunity to get more dogs out into the community and at the same time introduce a wider social initiative offering prisoners an opportunity to serve that very community. I understand that it is a major long term commitment to be considering being matched with a mobility dog. I am more than happy to share my own experiences with you or discuss any queries/questions you may have. Please contact me on jody.hogan@mobilitydogs.co.nz. I look forward to hearing from you. Vicky Turner - Canine Manager
Last year Vicky travelled, together with fellow Mobility Dogs volunteer Laura Cartwright, to the Bergin University of Canine Studies in Santa Rosa, California where they both completed intensive summer courses in Service Dog Training - specifically preparing assistance dog trainers to train and place service dogs with individuals with disabilities - and as High Schooled Instructors teaching at-risk teens how to train service dogs. For the past few months Vicky has been instructing female prisoners as part of the Puppies in Prison programme with outstanding results. Vicky and Laura have also been assisted over the past couple of years by volunteer handler/trainer Debbie Baigent. Sian Green - Services Coordinator
That means I am the person who will be processing your application, advising you throughout your assessment process and supporting you once you're matched with your dog and beyond. What motivates me is helping to establish a successful client/dog partnership and seeing the improved independence that brings into our client's lives. Like everyone on the team here, I'm excited about the future for Mobility Dogs within New Zealand and I'm looking forward to working together to get our wonderful dogs out into the community so they can make a real difference in people's lives. You can contact me at sian.green@mobilitydogs.co.nz if you are interested in applying for a mobility dog or just want to find out if a mobility dog might be right for you. |
© Copyright 2008 | Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust | Registered Charitable Trust CC24410 | New Zealand
Assistance dogs have been helping people with physical disabilities for over 30 years internationally. The Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust (Mobility Dogs) is a registered charitable trust, founded by Bradley Mark, with an appointed 
The Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust appointed Suzanne as General Manager in January 2009. Suzanne brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience gained from her years of being part of senior leadership teams in large New Zealand companies.
With little canine experience my family and I were first introduced to Mobility Dogs in 2006 as puppy-raisers; literally a 'chance meeting' in the street with Bradley Mark looking for a puppy-raiser for golden retriever 'Chance'! It was very much a case of our being trained to train a dog. Over the following 18 months, alongside my puppy-raising efforts, I worked increasingly as a volunteer for the organisation. 
I joined the team at Mobility Dogs in June 2008 as the Funds and Grants Coordinator. Whilst this is my primary role, we are a small organisation and I wear many hats!
As of May 2009 Vicky is now working full-time for Mobility Dogs as Canine Manager. She is well known to many in the Mobility Dogs community having been involved with the organisation for four years in a voluntary capacity as a dog handler/trainer. Since graduating with a Certificate in Animal Management (Canine Behaviour and Training) from UNITEC Vicky has been employed as a Behaviour Advisor, primarily assessing canine behaviour and working with difficult dogs, at Animal Welfare Waitakere. 
My name is Sian Green and I am delighted to take up the role of Services Coordinator here at the Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust.