The Canine Seizure Assist Society of North Carolina was established December 11, 1996, by founder Sharon Hermansen and is recognized as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization by the Internal Revenue Service.
Sharon Hermansen’s experience in training dogs began in 1995 when she lived in Oklahoma and was told by a dog trainer that she was a natural trainer. For eighteen months she learned to train under the supervision of well-respected dog trainer Mark DeFever and succeeded in training her personal dog in the following areas: narcotics, search and rescue, mobility assist, and tracking. After moving to Mooresville, North Carolina, in 1995, she opened her own private dog training business. When she was asked by a person who has epilepsy to train her dog as a seizure assist dog, she felt called by God to help her. Although she had never trained a dog for this, she credits God for helping her develop successful training techniques. Sharon’s belief that God was calling her to help those with epilepsy is the foundation on which the CSASNC was built.
Sharon Hermansen serves as Executive Director of CSASNC. She is a certified dog obedience trainer, has been recognized by the federal government as a narcotics dog trainer, and is a licensed Delta Society Service Animal Access Specialist. The New Zealand Epilepsy Association funded her to train trainers in New Zealand. She is head trainer, oversees the day to day business of the corporation, organizes fundraisers, advocates for access rights, trains others to train, and is now writing a training manual for those people who do not have access to a trainer of seizure assist dogs.
Currently, CSASNC programs are staffed by volunteers from all sections of the community. They have in common their dedication to the CSASNC mission. Appendix B lists some of the volunteers and their roles in making the projects successful.
CSASNC operates through fund-raising, grants, and charitable donations from businesses, corporations, civic organizations, and individuals who share the mission of enhancing people’s lives through the use of seizure assist dogs. In the last few years, funding has been more difficult to locate; and since there is no charge for the training services CSASNC trainers provide, there is no consistent source of funding. The organization has operated on an extremely small budget, often not being able to pay travel expenses to our trainers timely or meet the $500/month payroll for the Executive Director, and lacking the funds to expand the training programs requested by the community.
The number one goal of CSASNC is to increase the number of trainers of seizure assist dogs in North Carolina and to ultimately have qualified trainers in all parts of the country.
