THE PAUL FOX MEMORIAL EDUCATIONAL FUND
Presented in Paul’s name by his family; wife Anne, daughter Meagan and son Kent in Partnership with Audeamus Service Dogs.
Paul was born on April 6,1955 and passed away much too soon on December 18, 2017.
He graduated J.L. Crowe High School in Trail, BC and while he was in school, he joined the 44th Field Engineers Squadron but his desire was to work with dogs in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
In December 1976, he left for training in Regina, SK. Over the next 10 years he was in Kamloops, BC, Port Hardy, BC, Kimberley, BC Sointula, BC and Port McNeil, BC. During that time, he took every opportunity to train pups for the RCMP and to quarry whenever he could.
In 1987 he finally got his wish and became an RCMP dog master in Surrey, BC. He was in Surrey and Langley for the next 8 years when he moved up to Kamloops for 3 years.
In 1999 he was assigned to the Vancouver International Airport and after 15 years of being a dog master, he finally had to give up for health reasons.
In 2011, he retired as a Staff Sergeant with his last posting in Richmond, BC. He was approached by Audeamus shortly after retirement to be the BC contact for helping veterans in BC with PTSD to have a Service Dog and to follow up on their training.
He was enthusiastic about helping Audeamus as he knew what could happen to the mind when faced with work-related sights and sounds when working in the RCMP and the Military and the causes of PTSD, Occupational Stress Injuries and Traumatic Brain Injuries.
FUND
The Paul Fox Memorial Educational Fund was established in 2019 and made possible by the generous bequest of Paul Fox’s Family in cooperation with Audeamus Service Dogs.
The fund was created to provide post-secondary financial aid and support to the children belonging to members of the RCMP and CAF as well as Veterans and First Responders.
Funding aids students, seeking a vocation in fields pertaining to the treatment of PTSD, OSI and other Traumatic Brain Injuries in conjunction with the human animal healing process.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
If you would like to donate to the Paul Fox Education Fund you will be supporting students in researching these important issues.
PAUL FOX MEMORIAL EDUCATIONAL FUND RECIPIENTS
Linzi Williamson was chosen as she is an outstanding PhD student that is part of the research team, has been involved in learning all aspects of training handling and using a service dog. She played a role in developing the application for the health Canada grant to next research by U of S lead by Dr. Colleen Dell. Having been successful in receiving her PhD she is now part of the three year project, involved in fostering and pertaining Audmeaus service dogs.
Dr. Linzi Williamson (PhD, CE) received the Paul Fox Fund Memorial Educational Fund in 2019 to recognize her work with AUDEAMUS, Inc. when she was a PhD Applied Social Psychology student at the University of Saskatchewan. Her work with AUDEAMUS, Inc. has evolved over the years. First, she was a research assistant supporting the Health Canada grant funded research led by Drs. Colleen Dell and Darlene Chalmers. During this time, she was involved in learning all aspects of service dog training and handling, and even fostered an AUDEAMUS, Inc. service dog. Linzi was also instrumental in co-authoring and publishing the research findings from that project. Second, upon receiving a research grant through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) she led her own project on veterans working with service dogs which involved AUDEAMUS, Inc. personnel and veteran-dog teams and families. Third, as a volunteer research consultant she supported AUDEAMUS, Inc. in their accreditation pursuit.
You can read more about Dr. Williamson’s research on service dogs, therapy dogs, companion animals, and the human-animal bond on her personal website: https://www.linziwilliamson.com/humananimal-bond-research
LINZI WILLIAMSON - 2019
"It is an honour to be recognized as the 2019 Paul Fox Memorial Educational Fund recipient for the work I have done with the AUDEAMUS research team as a PhD-level research assistant. Being a part of this team is a point of personal pride because I truly value the efforts made by AUDEAMUS toward bettering the lives of Canadian veterans with their service dog program. Awards like this are important not only for the development of research careers like mine, but also for raising awareness about the importance of the work being done by AUDEAMUS." Linzi
AUTUMN TUTTROEN - 2019
Autumn Tuttroen, a Saulteaux woman with familial roots in Skownan First Nation, is entering her final academic term of the Bachelor of Social Work program with the University of Regina. From 2015 to 2018, Autumn was a dual student with both the University of Regina and University of Saskatchewan (U of S), where she completed her Pre-Social Work academic requirements.
During her time as an undergraduate, Autumn received numerous academic and university awards, developed second-year university programming for the Indigenous Student Achievement Program (ISAP), and was invited to speak at numerous events, organizations, and in the classroom to gatherings of 200+ people including Saskatoon Police Service platoons. In addition to being a dedicated and high achieving academic, Autumn also provides academic guidance to U of S Arts & Science students in her position as an Indigenous Student Peer Advisor, where she brings a holistic approach to working alongside students.
In early 2018, Autumn met Corporal Chris Lohnes in her Social Work with Animals class, where he presented on the AUDEAMUS program. Autumn was inspired by Chris’ passion and knowledge and became a volunteer with Audeamus Service Dogs shortly thereafter. Since then, Autumn has done extensive work in the Audeamus Service Dogs Google Classroom which connects the national program’s members to develop and strengthen their interpersonal and canine handling skills. As of July 2019, Autumn joined Dr. Colleen Dell’s U OF S Department of Sociology research team where she will act as a liaison between the researchers and Audeamus Service Dogs members.
I am truly humbled to be recognized as a recipient of the Paul FOX Bursary grant for the volunteer work that I have done for AUDEAMUS. My experiences with AUDEAMUS members and the founders has been and continues to be awe inspiring, eye opening, and immensely educational.
I became part of the AUDEAMUS community because I truly believe in the program’s vision, mission, and values in improving the physical and emotional wellbeing of veterans, first responders, and war correspondents. Seeing firsthand the positive strides that program participants make in their lives and with their service dogs is what inspires me to continue working for AUDEAMUS." Autumn