My beautiful canine friend Lynellemay look like your typical yellow Labrador but she is anything but typical. She can't fly, she can't leap tall buildings at single bound, she doesn't wear tight fitting spandex, and bullets will not bounce off her but she is a super dog. She is what is known as a canine companion or service dog, a canine companion is a dog that helps disabled people be more independent in their daily life. She is very specially trained in over 40 commands, she can open doors, open drawers, pick up items that I drop and deliver them to my lack, get a cold drink out of the refrigerator if I choose to train her to do so, bark on command and much much more. Try to get your dog to do that! I got Lynelle completely free of charge from a nonprofit organization known as Canine Companions for independent or CCI, there they trained her in all that she knows. I had to go to their facilityin Santa Rosa California for a two-week training coursethat taught me how to handle Lynelle and all her commands. I had Lynelle since May of 2008 but it feels like a lifetime, it's hard for me to remember life without my trustworthyand loving friend. Words cannot express how much she has changed my life. She has given me Independence and I can only dream of before and she is the best friend anyone could ask for. I love her as far my family and I am forever grateful to her for her loving service. I recommend anyone with a physical disabilityto get a canine companion, it's a lot of work he worked in the end. For more information go to www.cci.org
I had no idea you had gotten a service dog! I also went through the CCI program and was placed with my Dog, a black lab female named Quetzal, back in 1991in Santa Rosa at their original training center. She had been previously placed with a boy from Canada about 3 years before me but when he decided he no longer wanted her she was sent back to CCI. The boy wasn't using her and felt she drew too much attention to his disability. His loss was my gain. She had to be completely re-trained my Mike, who was her original trainer. So just before she was 5 years old she was placed with me and I believe we graduated in June or July of 1991. She was my service dog until she was about 9 ½ years old when we retired her because she could no longer keep up with me at school. After that she was allowed to be our family pet but would still help me around the house. It’s been 9 years since she passed away at the age of nearly 14 years old. It hit me very hard when she died. She was a family member and my best friend. I still miss her dearly and dream about her very frequently. I never applied for another dog because no other dog could possibly replace her. It’s a very special bond between one and their canine companion and you are very fortunate to have a wonderful dog like Lynelle.
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