MERCED — Since being diagnosed with post-polio syndrome, Kathy Jo Dennison has struggled with balance. Walking long distances and picking up objects is difficult for her. She began to search for a companion to help her with daily activities and found California Canine Academy’s Assistance Dogs program.
“I am probably the most blessed person in the world. My dog has changed my life,” Dennison said of her 5-year-old golden retriever/golden Labrador mix. “If I didn’t have him, I would be home all the time.”
Judy Warren, master dog trainer and CEO at California Canine Academy (CCA), has been training dogs as part of the assistance program since 2001. She breeds her own dogs – half-golden retriever, half-Labrador – for the program. “They seem to make the better service dogs,” she said.
The only dogs Canine Academy will not certify are pit bulls, but Warren said it doesn’t have anything to do with the breed’s temperament. It’s about public perception. For example, if a pit bull is brought on a public bus, people may get scared.
“Animals have been her whole life,” Canine Academy office manager Jenea Steen said of Warren.
As a police officer Warren worked with German shepherds for protection training. Steen said German shepherds are Warren’s breed. The mixed pups simply offer a better build and temperament for assistance dogs, she explained.
Canine Academy service dogs are not guide dogs. They are granted to people with physical disabilities and other disorders.
“These last few years we’ve seen a lot more people with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders,” Warren said. “We partnered with Wounded Warriors for veterans so we see quite a few through their offices.”
In addition to training their own dogs, Warren said CCA trains donated purebred golden retrievers or clients’ dogs. They also offer certification for outside dogs. Warren said to receive certification, any dog must pass both a public access test and CCA’s own test.
In addition to their assistance program, CCA offers boarding and training for all dogs.
Receiving a dog through CCA is not an easy task. First, a physician must provide paperwork explaining a patient’s need for an assistance dog. Then, hopeful participants must wait for a dog to become available. The dogs go through their own training before potential owners attend a two-week boot camp with the dog to learn how to work together.
Dennison, who is from Sun City, Arizona, said she stayed in Merced for more than two weeks to complete training and testing with her assistance dog. At the end of the first week, participants were handed a leash with the dog staff had chosen as the best fit for them. Participants in the assistance program are never allowed to choose their own dog. They are paired through assessments conducted during the first week of camp.
For Dennison, the experience was emotional.
“I just cried so hard,” she said.
After the leash was handed to Dennison, she retreated to her hotel room for bonding. For two days, the leash remained around her wrist and attached to her new companion at all times. She even went as far as to shower with her arm stretched out, still attached to the leash. She didn’t leave the room except to take out the dog.
“You don’t break that leash,” she said. “It’s your time to bond with the dog.”
After week two was complete, a test was administered. Dennison recalled the test lasting approximately three hours as her and her dog, Nate, went out in public and completed several tasks. At the end, they both passed.
Nate has been Dennison’s assistance dog for three years. As her condition has worsened, Nate has adjusted to meet her needs. When she started spending part of her time in a wheelchair, she called Warren. Nate had already been trained to assist with the wheelchair, but Dennison needed to know how to command him to do so. Together, they worked it out.
“She is always there,” Dennison said of Warren. “It’s like this trainer that you can work with indefinitely.”
Dogs and people with disabilities are not the only ones who benefit from CCA’s assistance dog program. The nonprofit trains volunteer at-risk teenagers to train dogs at CCA. They complete an eight-month training program with four and a half hours of class each week and bimonthly outings. All of the participants come through the county’s human resources department.
CCA welcomes local businesses to lend a hand. From sponsoring events to donating gift cards to use as raffle prizes, there is always something they can do to help, Warren said. Businesses can call CCA at (209) 723-2777 to get involved.
Community members can also help. Dogs that do not pass the tests for a variety of reasons are available for adoption. The fee is $350 for trained, neutered or spayed dogs.
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