Raven: Cambridge Fire's Peer Support, CISM Therapy Dog

My name is Nicole Signoretti, owner of Raven, who is half English Lab, almost half Old English Sheepdog, and a touch of Standard Poodle. I would like to raise funds to help cover some costs of Raven's therapy dog training through Dog Training Elite.

Raven was born the night my cousin Bill passed from complications of the autoimmune disease Myasthenia Gravis and septic shock. He was a brilliant scientist who worked for Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. He deserves to be recognized for the research he provided to this world.

Raven was given to me by my dear cousin Mike, and I would like her to be the first peer support/CISM (critical incident stress management) dog of the Cambridge Fire Department.

Firefighters/first responders have a higher rate of suicide than the average population, 2-3 times higher than other adults in the age range of 18-65. Providing a therapy dog during meetings has been proven to help people relax and process trauma, reduce stress, and open up conversation during interventions.

It's time to change these numbers.

*All funds are going towards training Raven. Any funds over this cost will be forwarded towards future therapy dogs in Cambridge or donated to First Responder Therapy Dogs (FRTD) in Massachusetts.