Our latest project around the kennels is “Maverick” a beautiful black labrador retriever. Maverick was brought to us by the family of a wonderful young girl that was injured in a vehicle crash that seriously injured her. Maverick is currently being trained to assist the young woman when she is released from the hospital and completes her rehabilitation. Maverick is a great labrador and was simply a personal pet of the young lady who was injured in the crash.

Maverick is learning a lot of new skills as an assistance dog. He is learning how to help to balance a person, heel alongside a wheelchair, meet new people without begging for attention, retrieve items and to work in a variety of environments. Maverick will be a wonderful helper when his training is complete and he will provide independence for someone that may not otherwise have it.

Service dogs can be trained for a variety of tasks including pulling a wheelchair, assisting in balance, retrieving dropped items, turning on lights, assisting the hearing and vision impaired, and even comforting those with mental disabilities.

Maverick has a few more months of daily training before he will officially be a prepared to work daily as an assistance dog. He will be required to endure a great deal of training and long days at work. Maverick will be required to stand for extended periods of time with someone balancing on his harness and will have to heel beside a wheelchair for hours at the city park. He will also be required to lie under a restaurant table for an entire meal and endure all the sights, sounds and smells that are abundant without begging for food or asking for attention.

Once his training is complete he will have to work almost every day with little or no breaks. He will have little or no time to be a dog and do the things that most dogs do. He will be required to help, even when he is tired, and I am confident that he will be the happiest dog in doing so.