McKinney Christian Academy’s beloved Bible teacher and veteran Dr. McGinn is in the process of getting a new service dog. After the sudden loss of his first service dog Tillie, McGinn started to look for a new companion. After talking with several non-profits and breeders, McGinn was able to find a newborn black lab from a breeder in Tennessee. He decided to name his new service dog Cowboy. McGinn’s niece is actually a Professional Certified Dog Trainer and Animal Welfare Specialist with the Canine Learning Academy and offered to train the puppy. A  few weeks ago, McGinn flew to Knoxville, Tennessee to get Cowboy and then flew to Long Beach, California where he spent a few days with his new puppy and his niece. Cowboy will stay in Long Beach, California to be trained and Dr. McGinn will be able to pick him up in late July. Cowboy will make his first appearance at the “Back to School Bash” in August. The coolest part about this process is how the student body has contributed to help McGinn. The average price to train a service dog like Cowboy can be 15,000 dollars or more. A fundraising goal of 8,000 dollars was set and so far a little over 9,000 dollars has been raised for Cowboy’s training. Anonymous donor paid for McGinn’s airplane tickets with their air mile rewards and another used their travel miles to pay for his hotel. When asked what he is most excited for when he gets Cowboy, McGinn said, “Research has shown that when we interact with dogs, our ‘feel good’ oxytocin hormone levels increase. Consequently, that helps to lower stress and to feel more at ease and relaxed. There’s also the sense that someone always has your back when you go out in public or go to bed at night. So, I’m looking forward to that type of friendship and companionship again.” Donations are still open and are much appreciated. If you would like to donate, McGinn’s Venmo, Zelle and link to his “puppy page” is below. McGinn would like to express how grateful and blessed he is for everyone’s outpouring of kindness to him.

Venmo:@John-McGinn-12

Zelle: drjohnmcginn@gmail.com

Link to puppy page