Canine Companions for Independence, the nations largest provider of highly trained assistance dogs to children and adults with disabilities, is proud to honor Max Gold at this years annual Heart & Heroes gala May 9th in Manhattan. Max Gold is 21 years old and a native of Merrick. Max was born with a rare vascular anomaly birth defect that leaves him dependent on a wheelchair, but this hasn't slowed him down one bit. In August of 2002, when Max was only 11 years old, he underwent team training at our Farmingdale Campus with his father Roy, and graduated with his first skilled companion dog Langley. 8 and a half years later, Max and his family were devastated by Langley’s passing. But two years after that, Max applied to CCI for a successor dog, and graduated this past Feb. with his new best friend Lakota. Max graduated from Nassau Community College in Garden City in 2012, and is looking forward to pursing a four year degree. His interests are typical for a 21 year old…he’s looking forward to getting his driver’s license to become more independent. He loves to travel, hang out with friends, and go to the movies or the mall. Lakota assists Max by picking up objects that he can’t reach, like his cell phone, and TV remote. Max loves being part of the CCI family, and is a regular supporter at CCI activities and public awareness events. Max loves making speeches, participating in demonstrations and showing the world what it’s meant to him to have had Langley and now Lakota in his life. Max says for as long as he lives, he will always give back to CCI in any way he can. Here's Max in his own words: I'm Max Gold. I've been a member of Canine Companions for Independence family for 13 years. I was just 8-years-old when I graduated with my first service dog, Langley, at the Farmingdale Campus. Just this year, I graduated with Lakota from The Miller Family Campus in Medford, N.Y. Both campuses gave me the greatest gift of all. Confidence. I know that with the help of my buddy here, I can live an amazing, successful, fruitful and barrier-free life. My experiences at the two campuses had some major differences. In Farmingdale, there was just one classroom for team training and lunches. There were no dormitories which meant the students had to spend a lot of money on hotels during the two week training period. Then I arrived at The Miller Family Campus. It's 11 acres and 39,000 square feet. It’s huge. Enough space to practice real life scenarios with your dog. There are dorm rooms for the students training and their families and a kitchen/dining area where I forged some lifelong friends. While TT was in progress, we had a major snow storm. The parking lot, main roads were all covered in ice which made it impossible to go out anywhere. So throughout that time, we all had a chance to get to know each other. We were glad it didn't turn out to be something from the shining. The staff had everything they needed to teach us everything we needed. The Miller Family Campus definitely felt like home to me. The best part about the experience was, of course, meeting Lakota. He is amazing. He is always by my side. He even sleeps with me. Lakota is not just my dog. He is my lifeline. Somehow we make each other strive for something better. Our work is never done. In fact, this fall we are going to college for a degree in Business Management. How many dogs can bark about that? The Miller Family Campus was created through the generosity of many benefactors. To each of them, please know Canine Companions for Independence will remain in my heart today, tomorrow and forever thanks to your gifts that brought the vision to life. Max Gold For information about Hearts & Heroes: http://www.cci.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1062271 ABOUT CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE: Canine Companions for Independence is the largest non-profit provider of trained assistance dogs with five regional training centers across the country. Established in 1975, Canine Companions provides highly trained assistance dogs to children and adults with disabilities and is recognized worldwide for the excellence of its dogs, and quality and longevity of the matches it makes between dogs and people. There is no charge for the dog, its training and on-going follow-up services. For more information, visit cci.org or call 1-800-572-BARK.
