Canine Companions readies dogs for service
Boerne Mayor Frank Ritchie and local Canine Companions volunteer Dale Flashberg met Friday at City Hall to recognize September as National Service Dog Month.
But for Flashberg, every month is dog service month.
Flashberg has worked on and off as a volunteer at Canine Companions for 37 years, a company that trains service dogs for people with disabilities. While there is a waiting list, Flashberg ensures you the wait is worthwhile.
The dogs, which are bred in Santa Rosa, California, arrive for training at Irving, Texas, when they are 8 weeks old and will spend the next six months becoming a service dog.
“I prefer females because they are smaller, but it doesn’t really matter,” she said. “Most of our dogs are lab-golden crosses, but we do have some yellow labs as well.”
Ritchie, known for his side companion Bella, knows the value of service and companion dogs to their humans.
“Service dogs embody the very spirit of service, much like our veterans, first responders and community members who dedicate themselves to helping others,” Ritchie said. “They are not just pets, but highly trained partners who allow people to live fuller, more independent lives.
“In Boerne, I have seen firsthand how we as a community value accessibility and inclusion, and service dogs help break down barriers so that every resident can participate more fully in the life of our community,” the mayor said.
Canine Companion’s dogs will learn 32 commands during the sixmonth intensive training process. The service dogs are trained to cover over 64 disabilities, including PTSD, deafness, mobility impairments, autism, and can even be worked as therapy dogs to provide comfort in educational settings, health care settings or visitations. They do not, however, train for blindness.
To get the dogs adjusted to public areas, trainers take them everywhere they go — to restaurants, movies, shopping areas and doctor visits. Flashberg said the amazing dogs are also trained to open cabinets, fridges or even notify when the microwave cycle is done. They can nudge their owner, when the owner has a hearing disability, to let them know someone called their name.
“They know me at the local Chili’s,” Flashberg said. “I’m always traveling with a dog. We go into a restaurant, and the dog goes right under the table.”
The dogs stay with Canine Companions until they are 18 months old, where they are then paired with a person with disabilities, at no cost to the disabled individual.
Requirements to be paired include a note from a doctor that emphasizes the need for a service dog and an application submission on Canine Companion’s website.
When the dogs graduate, a formal ceremony is held and the leash is handed over to the dog’s new owner. The new owners are required to spend the next two weeks at the facility to become accustomed to their new furry helper.
Whitney, Flashberg’s eighth personal dog, is currently in training at Canine Companions and is expected to graduate in January.
Sharing Flashberg’s passion for service dogs is Kim Malone, another puppy trainer.
Malone brought two service dogs to the proclamation: Boston, an 11-month-old lab-golden cross, and Dori, a 3-yearold therapy dog that Malone trained.
Flashberg continues her work with Canine Companions — which just celebrated its 50th anniversary — in addition to her work as a professional clown. One of her favorite events to work is the annual Blue Santa for the Kendall County Sheriff’s Department.
Still, dogs are near and dear to her heart, and she plans on adding to her family with a new puppy in October.
“But we really need more puppy trainers,” Flashberg said. “We are always looking for more.”
To learn more about becoming a puppy trainer, call her at 210-452-5959. To learn more about Canine Companions and its service dogs application process, visit https:// canine.org/service-dogs/ our-dogs/.
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