Austin Dog Alliance Celebrates Grand Opening of Kennel and Education Center

CEDAR PARK, Texas - June 14, 2016 - PRLog -- After 10 years of employing dogs to heal hearts and bring new life to children and adults, the non-profit Austin Dog Alliance is celebrating another milestone. Friday, June 17, the Alliance will cut the ribbon on its new 3,200 square-foot Kennel and Education Center at its Cedar Park ranch.

The beautiful limestone building includes a large training room, five boarding suites for service dogs in training, a grooming education area and the ability to convert the training room into a multiple student computer learning labs. Paid for through grants, individual and in-kind donations, the center will supplement the Alliance's main building space and will make it possible to expand its existing programs:

·  Hounds for Heroes: Providing service dogs to veterans with post-traumatic stress, anxiety and or depression

·  Special Dogs for Special Needs: Service and emotional support dogs for teenagers with autism/anxiety and adults with a variety of emotional challenges

·  S+CORE!: Job-skills training and career placement for adults with disabilities

·  Bow Wow Reading Dogs: Reading assistance for at-risk students at schools and libraries

·  Pet therapy outreach programs serving hospitals, rehabilitation centers and nursing homes

·  Summer camps for kids aged five to 15

·  A wide variety of canine training classes open to the public

Austin Dog Alliance today consists of over 300 volunteers, 145 therapy dog/handler volunteer teams and 16 staff serving more than 30,000 people in need each year from its seven-acre ranch in Cedar Park, including adults and children at 200 Central Texas schools, libraries, hospitals and nursing homes.

"We are truly busting at the seams with the demands for our services," says Debi Krakar, Austin Dog Alliance executive director. "Thousands of men, women, seniors and children need the comfort and understanding these therapy animals can provide. Now, we can expand our service dog and job skills training programs, and add more training classes and summer camps to the schedule."

"I want to offer special thanks to the many individuals and companies who have made this building a reality," said Krakar. "Specifically, Walker Electric, Austin Underground, Big Red Dog Engineering and Amy Martinez.

The Open House Grand Opening celebration will take place at Austin Dog Alliance, 1321 W. New Hope Drive in Cedar Park, from 6:00-10:00 pm on Friday, June 17 with the ribbon cutting at 7:30 pm.  Guides will provide tours, and live music, appetizers, beer, wine and punch will be provided by Buca di Beppo, (512) Brewing Company, Bent Oak Winery and Tito's Handmade Vodka. Visitors are encouraged to bring friends, family, and well-mannered leashed dogs.

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About Austin Dog Alliance

Located in Cedar Park, Texas, Austin Dog Alliance, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit, provides therapy dog teams to local hospitals, rehabilitation centers and nursing homes and offers assistance to at-risk readers at schools and libraries through its Bow Wow Reading Dog program. The Alliance's S+CORE! program provides vocational training and job placement for adults with disabilities. Its Hounds for Heroes program trains and provides Service Dogs to deserving U.S veterans. The Austin Dog Alliance also provides human-dog training classes for beginner and advanced dog owners. The organization depends on donations to sustain and grow its community outreach programs. For more information, visit http://austindogalliance.org.