Cavedale puppies hope to become Canine Companion service dogs

Before they aid people in need, these dogs get to be puppies.|

A new generation of civil servants are being raised in the mountains of the Mayacamas, but they might be a little furrier and a lot smaller than you’d expect.

Allison Ash and her partner Marc Schwager are on their third litter with Velma, a Canine Companion dog who lives with them. Once they’re 8 weeks old, they will be returned to Canine Companions to begin training to become service dogs for people with 65 forms of disabilities, such as the blind, those with spinal cord injuries, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“It's always sad because they takeover your life and it's such a joy,” Ash said. “But eight puppies at 8 weeks old, it's time for them to have the individual attention they need to go to individual homes.”

The current cluster of eight puppies, whose names all begin with the letter “L,” is the first Ash and Schwager have raised from birth. In two prior litters, they were hesitant to raise so many puppies on their own, they said, but Canine Companions has provided the guidance and support to simplify the process and make them confident they could succeed. During the second litter, Canine Companions raised the puppies the first four weeks, while Ash and Schwager raised the puppies the second four weeks when the puppies, which helped the couple build up their confidence the next time around.

“Once we'd had the puppies here their second four weeks, we were very confident we could do the whole thing,” Ash said. “A person who's whelped puppies before... convinced us that that we could do it, helped us get set up, and found a place in our house.”

Michelle Williams, the public relations manager for Canine Companions, said the organization works to prepare foster parents for raising puppies. Nail clippers and pre-filled calendars with health benchmarks lie on a table next to the puppy pen, where a mix of plastic toys, a large stuffed bear, a toy piano and, of course, potty training pads, take up the space inside. And crawling, flailing or sleeping inside the pen are the puppies, Lola, Larson, Lexi, Lucy, Lamar, Leland, Layton and Lindon.

“It’s all fun and games until someone poops on the piano,” Schwagger said. “There’s always clean up to do.”

While they may not look like it now, the puppies will learn more than 30 commands in the next stage of the training before they’re selected into more specialized programs for their future owners, Williams said.

“And that's when we decide what these dogs are meant to do,” Williams said. “Are they really going to be perfect for a child? Are they going to be perfect for an adult using a wheelchair? Or maybe some of our more high-energy dogs would go into our hearing or post-traumatic stress program for veterans,” Williams said.

By the end of their training, the dogs will know more than 40 commands and will be able to pick up items from the floor, alert their owner of signs of danger like sirens and open doors. The fully trained dogs will be worth $50,000, yet will be given to their future owners at no cost, as a contribution by Canine Companions through to grants and donations to their organization.

And after her fifth litter for Canine Companions, Velma will belong to Ash and Marc, living out her days as a family pet. Which is even better than the puppies.

“Becoming a breeder caretaker means we get Velma,” Ash said. “She knows how to learn, so I've had so much fun just teaching her new things. She's great in public and she's just the most amazing part of our family.”

Contact Chase Hunter at chase.hunter@sonomanews.com and follow @Chase_HunterB on Twitter.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.