A Greene County High School graduate was a recent recipient of an award for her volunteerism with service dogs.

Conner Allender was named the 2024 CB Moore Legacy Award winner by Iowa Service Dogs. She tells Raccoon Valley Radio the award is named in memory of the daughter of Jane Moore, one of the co-founders of Iowa Service Dogs, Carrie Beth Moore. Allender points out Carrie Beth volunteered with the non-profit organization and helped to raise the canines and passed away a couple of years ago at the age of 14.

Allender describes her start with service dogs began in high school as a family bonding activity with her mom, which grew into volunteering with the Puppy Jake Foundation and being a foster trainer. She brought a canine a couple of times while in high school. After graduating from high school, she attended Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, where she and a recent Mount Mercy graduate started the Mustangs Unleashed Club, to give college students the ability to train service dogs on campus in 2022.

“And then we got our first puppy (in the) spring of 2024 and her name is Sammy. And so I was her handler for the first couple of semesters, and then when I graduated (from college) she went back to Iowa Service Dogs. But Sammy is our first dog in our club’s existence and so we’re giving students the opportunity to kind of get to know the dogs, see them on campus, kind of understand a little more of what service dogs do, why they’re important, and allowing them the chance to kind of get some volunteer hours in as well.”     

Allender explains what it means to be recognized with the CB Moore Legacy Award from Iowa Service Dogs.

“I think it means that my hard work is being recognized, but it’s also about getting more young people involved. This award is specifically for those young adults that want to continue to serve their community and they want to give back to those that serve our country. So this is just an award that honors all the hard work that young adults do, as well as the work that we can continue to do in communities such as Iowa Service Dogs.”     

Allender graduated from college this past December with a double major in criminal justice and psychology. She is applying to become a police officer with area police departments and will continue to volunteer with Iowa Service Dogs on a periodic basis. She encourages anyone who would like to learn more about volunteering with Iowa Service Dogs by clicking here.