Three yellow and black Labrador puppies are beginning their journey toward becoming psychiatric service dogs through New Life K9s, a nonprofit program based at Thousand Hills Pet Resort in San Luis Obispo.
Ivy, a female yellow lab, and her brothers Rudy and Diesel, both black labs, are the program's newest recruits. Over the next couple of years, the siblings will work with New Life K9s trainers, prison program trainers, and volunteer puppy raisers to develop the social skills and specialized training needed to support veterans and first responders living with PTSD. On the day KSBY Reporter Jessica Roe got to meet the pups, Ivy, the golden lab, and Diesel, one of the two black labs, were ready for showtime.
Nathanael Pino, the program manager for New Life K9s, said the nonprofit operates on the campus of Thousand Hills Pet Resort, a facility known in the San Luis Obispo area for boarding, daycare, and dog training. Customers pay for the boarding, daycare, and grooming services, and the organization covers its costs to run the facility with employees, but sets aside all profits to run its "umbrella" organization, the Son Care Foundation, under which New Life K9s falls.
"Boarding dogs on Thousand Hills Pet Resort is great because it helps our mission as a nonprofit, so all profit they get comes to us to help us fund what we're trying to do in providing these service dogs at no cost to the veterans and first responders," Pino said.
The program's impact is perhaps best illustrated by Tracy Patterson, a retired Air Force combat medic and PTSD survivor who received a fully trained service dog named Ned through New Life K9s. Patterson, who says she was raped multiple times by a superior during her service, spent years carrying guilt and anger in silence before finding the program through an internet search.
"I had never talked about it with anybody, especially my family. I was pretty embarrassed to even admit that I had allowed myself to be raped and not come forward with that, so I was harboring a lot of guilt and a lot of anger," Patterson said.
Because Patterson's attacker repeatedly approached from behind, her service dog Ned was specifically trained to alert her when anyone approaches from that direction.
"He provides like a circle. I call it a circle of safety all around me," Patterson said.
The puppies will first train with volunteer puppy handlers before heading to the California Men's Colony, west of San Luis Obispo, where two trained inmates will work with them around the clock until graduation.
Nicole Roberts, the program's lead service trainer, said focus is one of the most critical skills the dogs must develop.
"So they have to be constantly focused on their handler, and not distracted by other dogs or people," Roberts said.
One inmate involved in the training program reflected on the unexpected impact the work has had on his own life.
"I've been in prison almost 20 years, and I didn't think I'd be in a prison yard making high-pitched squeaky noises with dogs, so it changes your life," inmate handler Collin Davis said in a prior interview with KSBY at a service dog graduation at the California Men's Colony.
Not every dog will complete the full service dog track. Pino said those that don't qualify for full service dog status may still be placed as "Warrior" dogs, which are well-trained companions provided to veterans or first responders, also at no cost.
"These dogs are basically well-trained dogs who could be, you know, a great pet or companion to a veteran or first responder, and so those dogs are still at no cost to them," Pino said.
Donations to New Life K9s help cover the costs of raising, training, and accrediting service dogs, allowing veterans and first responders to receive them without cost being an obstacle. The organization is also currently seeking volunteer puppy handlers. New Life K9s' annual fundraiser is scheduled for Oct. 24.
Go to newlifek9s.org/givingpawsforhope for more information on how to attend the fundraiser, including buying tickets, a table, or becoming a sponsor.
If you have a story idea you would like to send to KSBY Reporter Jessica Roe, you can reach her directly via email at jessica.roe@ksby.com.
