MASSENA â When the temperatures start rising in the south, three retriever training professionals head north to train their dogs at the town of Massenaâs Retriever Training Grounds on Route 131 near the Massena Intake.
âI love it up here. I grew up in north central Pennsylvania. There are a lot of similarities,â said Jeff Young, who travels to Massena from North Carolina.
Joining him at the training grounds, a labor of love for Massenaâs Tony Zappia, are Michael Demmer and Shawn Simms from Alabama.
âThe temperature is in the 90s today (in Alabama),â Mr. Simms said.
Mr. Demmer was already familiar with Northern New York. He served with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum before he was injured in an IED explosion in Iraq during one of his three tours of duty there.