It's the last day of July and another month of 2020 is complete as we flip our calendars to what feels like month 2346 of quarantine. The dog days of summer are now truly upon us as we meet grueling hot temperatures with sweaty insufferable face masks. But we have two (dare we say equally) effective tools to help us keep our cool - yoga and dogs.
The former is our specialty. It's what we do. We provide yoga to first responders in department settings nationwide. Our reach is across 35 states and amounted to over 12,000 first responders in our programs last year.
The latter is man's best friend. We dare you to find anything that makes yoga better than yoga with dogs. Because, dogs! Below you'll find a few of the fur friends that make our yoga mats more crowded and constantly shower us with puppy love.
UWPD K9 Handlers & Bomb Dogs Practicing Yoga For First Responders!
First up, we give you our personal favorite - the University of Washington K9 handlers and their bomb dogs practicing yoga. This video was inspired by YFFR classes taught by YFFR Instructor 1, Demi Behn.
"Thank you Officer Demi for another great Yoga For First Responders session at University of Washington Police Department! #coolcopsdoyoga #yogaisforeveryone"
Click the image to play this video within Facebook. Trust us, you'll want to see this!
Fleaux
More dogs of YFFR for the win. Pictured above is Fleaux the therapy dog from Englewood PD. Fleaux, we are in need of therapy!
"#DogsofYFFR! Sharon Wheeler, Fleaux the therapy and me at a meeting today at Englewood PD."
Hugo
You've met the adorable Hugo on our blog already, pup of our COO, Brittany McCall, and Board of Directors and Technology Advisor, Josh McCall. You can read more about their adventures with YFFR in Brittany's Team Member Spotlight blog post here. Hugo has attended two YFFR trainings and sometimes appears on our virtual team meetings to brighten our day!
Abby
Abby Shooz, another star of the YFFR leadership team, belongs to our Founder and CEO, Olivia Mead, and fiancé plus CFO, Fire Service Advisor and wearer of many YFFR hats, Eric Brenneman. Read more about their adventures with the YFFR team on Olivia's Team Member Spotlight blog post here and Eric's here.
Yogi Mills, Mickey, Zoey, Raven, and Armstrong
Sara Mills, YFFR's Chief Training Officer, is queen of dog moms. Above are her furry family members - all are rescues and seniors. You'll learn more about them in Sara's Team Member Spotlight blog post coming up on 8/7!
Molly
This fire truck riding pup belongs to Brenna Vidal, YFFR Instructor 2 and new member of the YFFR leadership team as our Donor Relations Director. Brenna's hubby, Alex, rescued Molly 5 years ago from a shelter. When he’s on shift with the fire department, Molly sleeps on his pillow next to him. And when he’s home, she barks at him to get out of her spot. She’s a pit mix and the biggest love bug you will meet. When lizards and toads cross the backyard, Molly rolls on her belly and tries to play with them!
Gryffindor and Ralph
Next up are Gryffindor (doodle) and Ralph (Mississippi stray), the furry companions of our Public Information Director, Ashleigh Rader. These fellas also make the occasional guest appearance on YFFR leadership team virtual meetings. You guessed it, Ashleigh is a huge Harry Potter fan, hence the name Gryffindor.
Rome
This handsome fella can be found on the yoga mat of Vanessa Munaretto, YFFR Instructor 2 and one of our fantastic Program Managers. Rome is a 14 year old American Staffordshire Terrier - a sweet senior yoga pup. He enjoys long sloooow walks that Vanessa calls “moving meditations”. So it’s kinda like his flow state. He loves laying out in the grass, and he’s gentle with all other animals.
We hope you've enjoyed a peek into the lives of our #DogsofYFFR! 🐕🐶🐩