A few years ago my family and I were eating bagels at Einsteins in Wheaton when a woman entered the establishment with a black puppy wearing a gold and blue trimmed cape. My children were instantly drawn to the pup. I approached the woman and asked her if we could pet her dog.
"She's not my dog," the kind stranger replied. "She belongs to Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) an organization that breeds, trains and provides working dogs for people with disabilities. She turned to the mellow black lab mixed breed and asked her to sit. The dog immediately obeyed. The woman nodded toward my kids. And, like water in a stream, they rushed the pup and began vigorously petting her. She sat demurely, pink tongue hanging low, unaffected by their hyperactivity; but, clearly enjoying the rub-down.
"She's not my dog," the kind stranger replied. "She belongs to Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) an organization that breeds, trains and provides working dogs for people with disabilities. She turned to the mellow black lab mixed breed and asked her to sit. The dog immediately obeyed. The woman nodded toward my kids. And, like water in a stream, they rushed the pup and began vigorously petting her. She sat demurely, pink tongue hanging low, unaffected by their hyperactivity; but, clearly enjoying the rub-down.
While my kids fawned over the dog, the woman and I began a long impassioned discussion. "I'm a Puppy Raiser (PR) for CCI," she said. "I'll have this pup for a year to 18 months, then I'll turn her back in to CCI where she may get further, professional, training and potentially be placed as a working dog. I potty-trained her, socialized her, brought her to the vet and obedience school and taught her a bevy of commands."
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Loving dogs and loving the concept of dogs ministering to people, I was immediately hooked. I sat on the edge of my chair, ignored my Asiago bagel (which, for me, is a feat to remember) and fired questions at her. The woman, whose name I wish I could remember now, answered each of my queries and gave me a Canine Companions brochure.
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I held on to that brochure for over a year as if it were my life's totem. I brought my boys and my mom to a Puppy Graduation in Ohio (where pups are placed with their permanent companions), applied to CCI to be a puppy raiser, volunteered as a gift wrapper at a CCI event during Advent last year, and then waited and waited. Today, almost exactly three years after meeting the Puppy Raiser in Einsteins and as I type these very words, I have an adorable CCI puppy, Anna, fast asleep in her crate after a long walk we took to the park.
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Maybe we'll go to Einsteins one of these days when she's a little older. And, maybe, just maybe, we'll see the PR who inspired this journey as she lingers over a bagel and a cup of coffee. If we do see her, I can't wait to say, Thanks and to let her pet Anna!
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