Ginny Sweet, co-founder of Corsos for Heroes

by | Feb 24, 2021

Ginny Sweet—co-founder (with Harry Toro) of Corsos for Heroes, an organization based in Lutz, Florida, that donates specially-trained service dogs, of the Cane Corso breed, to military veterans who are contending with one or more disabilities—describes some of the members of her military family. This includes her Dad being a WWII veteran, noting that back then what we now label PTSD was then called “shell shock,” and she provides details about the military family of her co-founder Harry Toro. Sweet notes how that familial perspective, coupled with a number of years of experience both she and Toro had as dog breeders—and having recently become acquainted with, and impressed by, Cane Corsos– created something of a lightbulb moment, prompting the pair to launch Corsos for Heroes. Sweet recounts placing their first Corso with a veteran, and how things proceeded from there. Given that word has spread fast and there are far more veterans in need than available Corsos—and that the dogs are trained to reflect and respond to the specific needs of that individual veteran–she also outlines the criteria by which veterans are selected to be awarded a Corso. And those selected do receive their trained dog at no cost, Sweet says, noting that they’ve provided 10 dogs thus far since founding the organization, with two more to be offered at a big then-forthcoming (Feb. 28) event, slated to be held at Harley-Davidson of Brandon. Sweet adds that she and Toro have longer-term aspirations that include presenting Corsos to 40-50 veterans each year, and operating their own, in-house training facility, whereas some of the Corsos for Heroes thus far have been trained in various location, even in other states. (https://www.corsosforheroes.com, https://www.facebook.com/Corsos4Heroes/)

 

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Gretchen Primack, a writer, poet, and animal activist who, several years ago, poured her passion—and compassion—for animals into a collection of poetry, called “Kind.” (We discussed that original edition of “Kind” in a full-length interview on “Talking Animals,” almost exactly seven years prior: Feb. 26, 2014.) “Kind” has now been republished, in hardcover, bearing other changes and additions, Primack explained, including a new cover design, additional artwork inside, and 10—count ‘em!–new poems. She outlines the main methods for buying the new version of “Kind,” starting with ordering from her website (http://gretchenprimack.com), noting she’ll sign books purchased there, and add an inscription if asked; another recommended method for buying “Kind” is via https://bookshop.org, kind of an indie Amazon (if that’s not too egregious a contradiction in terms). We end our short chat with Primack reading one of her new Kind poems: “Covid I.”

COMEDY CORNER:  Mike Feeney’s “Service Dogs Are A Miracle” (https://www.mikefeeneycomedy.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Genesis’s “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

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