Our nonprofit, RRUFF Healing Heroes, began donating to Althea Canines in 2024 to help fund service dog training classes for disabled veterans and first responders with Post Traumatic Stress and other invisible disabilities. This year we have donated $20,000 to fund classes for three Hero/Dog Teams. As we observe the progress these students are making, we are pleased to see the positive changes already happening in their lives. 17 veterans die by suicide every day and more first responders die by suicide than on the job. We are grateful to Shannon Kane and her staff of trainers for the excellent training program they offer to these brave men and women. When we ask a student, "What's the most important thing your dog has done for you?" the answer is "My dog saved my life". Please consider donating to this nonprofit so they can continue to help save lives and make a difference.
Our nonprofit has supported Shannon and her team helping disabled veterans and first responders with PTSD and other invisible disabilities. We partially fund the service dog training classes for these heroes and their dogs, and assist with dog acquisition and veterinary expenses when needed. This nonprofit is making a difference in the lives of the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our safety and freedom. We are proud to partner with this outstanding organization. This is one of the dogs in training.
Victoria Curtis
Founder, RRUFF Healing Heroes Program
Shannon and Amy are very passionate about the work they do! I’m so thankful to be able to be a part of this wonderful organization that helps support people with mental health disabilities. Along with the opportunity to volunteer with Althea Canines, I have received basic obedience training from them for our pup as well as gained a perfect addition to our family from one of Shannon’s litters.
When we meet Shannon we were looking for a companion, and we got Marley, he came to enlighten our life, Shannon was there since day 1 till 3 years later, she is very good making us feel part of her amazing family, we are very thankfully for having her into our lives, Marley came home potty trained, friendly with small children and the best part his temper is just very charismatic and lovely, we couldn’t ask for a better companion. We thank you Shannon
Shannon was amazing to work with when I was looking for my potential service dog. She was really supportive and has continued to have great communication if I need anything. My dog is also so great! He can play rowdy with the guys, gentle with the little ones and loves cuddles. He is so smart that sometimes we say he completely understands English, because of how he responds to the things we say around him, or ask him to do. He has been easy to train and is really just the best dog I’ve ever had. And that is because of how Shannon and Willow Kane Farms raises their puppies.
Hello, Shannon is amazing to work with. I have one of the best-adjusted puppies that I have ever dealt with. My service puppy in training, Magic, is just that. He is magic because Willow Kane cares enough to socialize, train, and evaluate their service dogs properly. They have a fantastic program that continues beyond the adoption date. The puppy training with littermates is incredible. She has been responsive to all of my questions. She has been easy to work with. I highly recommend this non-profit.
I have been volunteering with Willow Kane Farm for about 6 months now and it has been one of the best experiences I have ever had! Shannon is a fantastic teacher and mentor and I am grateful to be able to learn from her. As a volunteer, I help with various tasks around the farm and have been able to learn so much through doing so. Everyone at Willow Kane Farm is fantastic and I would 100% recommend volunteering or supporting this organization to anyone interested or considering doing so. You will definitely not regret your decision and will be able to help make an impact in so many lives. This is a fantastic organization and I am so grateful to be apart of it!
Hero Dogs, Inc., a Maryland based 501(c)3 organization, that raises, trains and places assistance dogs with Veterans, first responders and other mission aligned organizations. We have had the great benefit of receiving two donated Labrador retrievers from Willow Kane for our program. Shannon is responsive, generous and easy to work with. We are grateful to have them as a partner!
Connecting with Shannon at Willow Kane Farms is one of the things we are most grateful for, because she helped us add our beloved fur baby, Spirit, to our family. There is no doubt Spirit has made each of our lives brighter every single day since we brought her home. Our girl Spirit is a best friend to us all, she somehow seems to know when one of us needs the comforting more than the other. She is the best dog, we love her so very much!
It has been our privilege to work with Shannon in finding our newest family member and we would recommend her a thousand times over. She conducts her work with the highest of integrity, ethics, and immense love for her animals.
Thank you forever, Shannon!
4 Paws 2 Freedom is a Service Dog Organization that specializes in PTSD for veterans and First Responders. We have worked with Shannon and Willow Kane Farm several times and are overjoyed at the success! We love the Labs, the cuddles, the temperament, and the love we get from both breeder and pups!
Shannon's facility is one of the best we've seen and that's why we love working with her!
We are a Labrador-loving, active family with children and have historically worked with Labrador rescue organizations to find our four-legged family members. However, in 2021, we decided to work with Willow Kane Farms and Shannon for our next family pup after extensive research. I have always been wary and suspicious of breeders, but after Shannon and I spoke over the phone, I knew she wasn’t in it for the money—breeding Labrador Retrievers are a passion and a calling. Her heart is in helping others through canine relationships. We entered the relationship with Willow Kane Farms with confidence. Communication was open. We traveled two hours to meet Otis weeks before he came
home-having this opportunity was so important for all family members.
I cannot say enough about Otis: he is healthy, happy, engaged and an essential member of our family. We have a son with severe behavioral challenges and Otis has made such a difference in helping to calm and center him. Since then, Otis has come to work with me at my middle school where he sits nicely next to struggling readers, engages aloof teenagers and even gets smiles out of the toughest kids.
Thank you Shannon for your work and heart. Your dogs are truly magnificent!
Can't say enough positive things about Willow Kane Farms - we were lucky enough to find Shannon at Willow Cane farms when we were looking for a lab pup late in 2020. We had contacted Shannon at Willow Kane Farms to get on a waiting list for a puppy. Our puppy was born Feb 1, 2021. Shannon let everyone know when the pups were born and we contacted Shannon right away to confirm that we still wanted a puppy. We visited the puppy on Feb 27, 2021. Our puppy was super cute, healthy and has been a joy in our lives.
We loved working with Shannon from Willow Kane Farms this pass summer (July 2022) when we got our little ball of fur Mays. Shannon helped us throughout the process of preparing for a new puppy and answering any and all of our questions, and we had a lot! She also let us board our 10 week puppy for two weekends in a row when he was too young to go camping that summer! He was so excited to be there with his puppy brothers. Shannon offered training as well which helped jump start our pups education! She is responsive, ethical, caring throughout the whole process. We call Shannon May’s godmother because she truly cares about each one of her pups as if they were her own. If we ever want to add another fur baby to our fam, Shannon will be our first call.
We love our pup from Willow Kane Farms! Shannon has also been absolutely monumental in aiding us through our puppies first year from several training sessions (included in the price of our puppy) to being available for us whenever we had questions. She has also been wonderful in offering boarding when we go on vacation, our pup is always so excited to go! We have been so grateful for everything Shannon and her family has does to help us with our experience and I’m so grateful we chose to work with her in growing our fur family!