Service Dog Puppies
June 16, 2020
Here’s something cute to help you brighten your week!
Sweet 8-week old puppies just arrived at Dallas Love Field on Monday by private jet after a long journey from California.
Soon, the eight pups will enter into intensive training to become service dogs for national nonprofit Canine Companions for Independence. The local chapter is based in Irving with multiple locations across the country. The headquarters are in Santa Rosa, California, where the puppies arrived from.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the group is keeping its mission going to train and provide service dogs for people with disabilities at no cost.
While the pandemic is limiting flights for many, it hasn’t stopped them from transporting these future assistance puppies. Canine Companions looked to private pilots for help, and they stepped up in a big way.
Private pilots Martyn Lewis and Josh Hochberg volunteer with a nonprofit organization that connects volunteer pilots and plane owners with animal groups that need animal transportation. Now, they’re offering Canine Companions their services in a time of need.
“It combines two of my greatest passions, flying and dogs,” Lewis said. “There is nothing better in the world than delivering a puppy to their new person. The impact the dog has on its future person is incredible.”
So far, private pilots have flown more than 100 Canine Companions puppies from the nonprofit’s headquarters in Northern California to their volunteer puppy raisers in Southern California, Colorado, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico and now, Texas.
“We are so grateful to Martyn and to all the pilots, staff and volunteers who are helping our puppies get to their volunteer puppy raisers during this unprecedented time,” said Canine Companions CEO Paige Mazzoni in a statement. “At times like these, it is wonderful to see the goodness and kindness in people who want to help however they can.”
Canine Companions still has over 400 people waiting to be placed with an expertly trained assistance dog.
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