Canine Companions for Independence is a nonprofit that raises and trains service dogs to accompany individuals who need them. Part of that training is a socialization process for the puppies, which includes exposing them to many different environments, including meeting new people and being in large crowds. CCI volunteers and their puppies have been volunteering at Family House for several months, and volunteer Scott Hartman shared his story with us:
I am a symphony musician and a dog lover! I do a lot of volunteer work mainly with non-profit musical and educational organizations. The first few weeks of raising a CCI puppy can be tough, as an 8 week old puppy is a baby and you lose a lot of sleep at first, but I love it. You make a lot of friends and see a lot of strangers smiling when you walk around with a dog. Imagine walking around with a cute puppy with a cape!
Our first puppy was Wakari, eight weeks old - raising her was incredible! I've had dogs for decades, but never one so trainable, so gentle. She went everywhere with us - museums, nice restaurants, the emergency room, every trip we went on, and to many Giants games. After she graduated from the CCI program, she was sent to meet her new, permanent owner, through a children’s hospital in Washington state.
Clarence III was our next puppy - a huge puppy with the sweetest spirit. At Clarence’s graduation ceremony, we met his future family, which included a 15-year-old boy with autism and Down Syndrome who had never had a friend. Whatever fun I’d had with Clarence was nothing compared to what he was going to do for my new friend Riley!
At first, I thought being a CCI volunteer Puppy Raiser was all about me and the joy I got from having a puppy (which is considerable), but after seeing how the puppies improve people’s lives, I realize that I am a tiny part of it. The real joy is realizing how much happiness and freedom the puppies give other people. The rewards greatly outweigh the time and effort put into it, and the time and efforts are joy in themselves.
Canine Companions for Independence is a great organization - every contact and experience we have had with CCI has been top notch, from the people at their incredible facility in Santa Rosa to the trainer we work with locally. There is a great deal of help and support from other raisers and the CCI community. I spent only a few hours at Family House but I could tell from the minute I walked in that it was full of caring individuals and the atmosphere was professional but very human and warm.
