Abby Nadeau
Community Editor

What is black, wears a cape and can potentially save your life? No, it’s not Batman. This lifesaver walks on all fours, drinks out of a water dish and can scratch his ear with his paw.

Meet Buster, an 86-pound Golden Retriever and Labrador mix who is training to be a Canine Companion.

With the help of his trainers, the Mattison family of Forest Lake, Buster is expected to become a dog that serves people who may have a variety of physical and mental disabilities.

Even though Buster is being trained through the program Canine Companions for Independence, he is still a regular dog that is kind to cats and licks the beaks of birds.

CCI

Canine Companions for Independence is a non-profit organization based in California that trains animals to assist people with disabilities.

The program is run with the help of over 700 volunteers from all over the United States who breed the animals, raise the puppies and train them until they are roughly 16 months in age.

The dogs are bred with purebred golden retrievers and Labradors in and around Santa Rosa, CA.

Canine Companions trains dogs to work in three different areas and according to their web site, the program has placed 513 dogs with people in need.

The Canine Companion web site at www.caninecompanions.org, service dogs are trained “to perform physical tasks such as pulling a wheelchair, retrieving dropped objects, opening doors and drawers and flipping switches for lights or automatic doors.”

Skilled companions or service dogs must have steady personalities and a real desire to work closely with their partners.

The trainers pair a participant and dog together at Team Training according to many criteria, including how the participant handles the dog and how the dog reacts to the participant.

A facility dog is trained to work with people like “rehabilitation professionals, caregivers or educators who utilize a Canine Companion to improve the mental, physical or emotional health of those in their care.”

The dogs can be brought to places like schools, rehabilitation programs and psychiatric programs.

The web site states that “the dogs are used to break the monotony of physical therapy exercises, to provide rewards and motivation in an educational setting, and many other facility uses. Facility dogs are able to carry out most of the commands of a service dog or skilled companion.”

If a dog is going to a rehabilitation center like physical therapy the dog may be used to play catch with a patient who is working on throwing a ball.

There are also hearing dogs that work with their patient to be aware of certain sounds.

“The dogs alert their partners to sounds they may not hear or sounds they rely on others to point out,” the web site stated. “They do this by making physical contact with their partner.”

The dog can be trained to recognize the sound of a telephone ringing, an alarm or the name of their partner.

All of the dogs go through the same process until they are 16-18 months. After that point they are run through more training that points them in a direction to be a service, facility or hearing dog.

Once their job is decided, the dog will then work with their partner to learn skills that are more specific to their partner’s needs.

However, this doesn’t come easy or fast. There are several steps that are taken before the dogs can even reach the point of being an official Canine Companion.

It’s only with the help of volunteers that Canine Companions has been so successful. Volunteers like the Mattisons.

The Mattisons

After seeing an ad for “puppy raisers” in a magazine, Mary Mattison and her two children Nicole, 17, and Rachel, 14, decided to get involved.

The family has been involved in several different rescue organizations, through Northwoods and others, but the idea of taking on a larger project appealed to the family.

They applied to be a “puppy raiser,” and were approved soon after. Six months later, the family welcomed Buster into their homes.

A puppy raiser is a volunteer who is personally and financially responsible for the dog.

Mary said volunteering for the program is an investment. The Mattisons paid to have Buster flown from California to Minnesota, they paid for the obedience classes, veterinary appointments and food.

“It’s such an interesting process and it is so much fun,” Mary said.

The process of raising a Canine Companion involves teaching the dog 28 different commands like “hurry,” “lets go,” “under” and “sit.”

It also includes exposing the animal to several different situations like going to a school or a restaurant.

“We work to socialize him,” Mary said.

Mary said there may be a situation like in a restaurant where all he can do is just lay down.

“We teach him he cannot take the scraps off the floor, even if they are right in front of him,” Mary said.

The Mattisons also work with Buster to get him used to random situations.

“If a loud motorcycle drives right by him, he cannot startle,” Mary said. “He’s really done very well with it.”

He has done so well that Mary said Buster is almost two different dogs.

“When he puts his cape on he is calm and attentive,” Mary said. “From ‘I’m a happy puppy,’ to a working dog.”

When Buster puts on his cape and goes out into the public he, and the Mattisons, do get a few looks.

“We get a lot of questions,” Mary said.

She said that some people will whisper as she walks by, but others will come up to her and say “I’ve been watching you and you’re not deaf, not blind, not injured, so what is the dog for?”

Mary said she gladly welcomes the questions and explains who Buster is.

“I will walk by a family with Buster and I will hear the parents explain to their children why they cannot pet him,” Mary said. “It really is an educational experience.”

While the Mattisons received a lot of looks and questions, Mary thought there would be more.

“We were never stopped,” Mary said. “No one ever said ‘hey you, what are you doing?’”

Between hotels, department stores and restaurants Mary said everyone in Forest Lake treated Buster well.

“The whole community was so welcoming,” Mary said. “He is such a huge part of our family and the community.”

Unfortunately, Buster couldn’t stay in Forest Lake with the Mattisons and on February 15 they all had to say goodbye.

Off to Ohio

When Buster left, he traveled to another Canine Companion for Independence center in Delaware, Ohio.

While in Ohio Buster will start his training to become either a service, facility or service dog.

“The trainers will find where he will work best,” Mary said. “They say the work is so specialized they can train them to pick a dime off the floor.”

Although they will be several hundreds of miles away, the Mattisons will be given monthly updates on how Buster’s training is going.

The Mattisons will also have the opportunity to meet who, if anyone, Buster will end up serving.

“That is the ultimate goal,” Mary said. “It would be great to meet the person whose life we’ve helped changed.”

If Buster does not make it through the training he will be released.

“If he is released we have the first opportunity to adopt him,” Mary said.

Over all Mary said the whole experience has been great.

“It’s a huge learning experience for Nicole and Rachel,” Mary said. “All the time and effort they put in, all while knowing they have to give him up and that they are willing to give him up...”

How to help

There are several ways in which the public can help Canine Companions for Independence.

People are always needed for breeding animals and puppy raisers.

To view a complete list of ways in which people can help visit www.caninecompanions.org or call the national headquarters at 1-866-224-3647.

Top of Page