DMV'S Pam Blake raises
puppy for disabled recipient
A volunteer in Canine Companion for Independence programby Brian Stewart
Spirit-Record ReportersPam Blake talks with excitement about the new puppy that she brought home on December 28 (1998).
She cannot help but understand how crucial the next 15-months with Bindi, an 11-week old Golden Retriever, will be for the future of a person that she doesn't even know.
"It is really a great program," said Blake, a Personnel Service Specialist I at the Human Resources Branch.
Bindi is part of a nonprofit organization called Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) and will be raised
primarily by Blake before she is turned over for advanced
training, and eventually to a qualified disable recipient. Like
hundreds of dogs before her, Bindi will be taught all of the necessary tasks to enable her to assist people with disabilities.
CCI was founded in 1975, and was a pioneer in training dogs to assist people with physical disabilities other than blindness. Their first service dogs brought increased independence to their human partners at a time in history when people with disabilities were charting new courses for their lives.
"We are very, very people oriented," said Tobie McPhail, Northwest Regional Manager for CCI.
CCI's goal is to provide assistance to people with a personal touch. They run their program with extremely high standards of puppy training and placement, said McPhail.
CCI has helped hundreds of disabled persons to have a service dog of their own. In 1997, 139 individuals graduated with Canine Companions, to bring the national active graduate team (dogs with disabled persons) total to 847, and the total from CCI's inception to 1442 graduate teams. CCI aims to place 200 graduate teams per year nationally by the year 2000.
More than 3,500 active CCI volunteers make this happen for disabled people through hard work and dedication. CCI receives funding for the program from donations, group and service club contributions, grants and ongoing fund raising activities.
Blake heard of the program initially from a friend who sent her a Nordstrom's advertisement that mentioned CCI. She sent for the application and began learning about the program from fiends and others who were already involved.
"The more I heard about the program the more I wanted to do it," said Blake.
She was put through the usual 3-month, four=step screening process for volunteer puppy raisers. While with Blake, Bindi will learn up to 27 commands that will give her the ability to do some of the things that people with disabilities cannot.
"It takes a very exceptional dog to fill the role," according to McPhail.
Golden Retrievers like Bindi, along with Labrador Retrievers, Shelties and Pembroke Welsh Corgis, are trained by CCI to be one of four types of Canine Companions: Service dogs, increase independence by performing practical tasks for a person with a physical disability; Hearing dogs, trained to alert people who are hearing impaired to important sounds such as the telephone ring, alarm clock buzzer, smoke alarm screech and baby's cry; Social dogs, used in a variety of surroundings and circumstances to enhance the quality of life for people with disabilities by performing practical and interactive tasks, and; Facility dogs enhance the quality of life for people through pet facilitated therapy and interactions, said CCI literature.
As a volunteer, Blake must feed Bindi specific food, pay for regular veterinary visits, attend mandatory training classes and write monthly reports on Bindi's progress. Blake estimated that it could cost her about $100 a month.
Once Bindi has completed her 14-month stay with Blake, she will return to CCI's regional center in Santa Rosa where she will receive six months of advanced training. There they will determine if Bindi is suited for service as a canine companion. On average, 40-50 percent of dogs are not suited for service for many reasons primarily temperament.
Following advanced training, matching of students and canines takes place during an intensive two-week training session called Team Training, where students learn the skills to command their new companions.
"We only want to place teams that will be successful," said McPhail. The only cost to the student is a $25 application fee, and $100 for supplies. There is no charge for receiving the dog.
Only in the preliminary stages in the process of raining Bindi, Blake is already thinking about the end. "I'm going to miss her," she said, "But I have the dog for a specific purpose."
Blake said she is not looking at this program as one dog, but as a lifetime commitment.
Should Bindi pass all of the stages of CCI's program and be given to a disabled partner, she will serve as a companion for eight to ten years before retiring. She then may become the graduate's household pet or be returned to Blake to live out her "golden years".
Currently, Blake is waiting for word from DMV whether or not she can bring Bindi to work with her. "It is essential to her training to be socialized in all environments," she said.
Whatever Bindi's future may hold, Blake is excited about the change to touch another life with the help of CCI.
For information about CCI, please contact their Northwest Regional Center in Santa Rosa at (707) 577-1700, or their Southwest Regional Center in Oceanside at (760) 754-3300.