8 Irving-trained service dogs head to new homes after graduation

IRVING, TX (CBSDFW.COM) Eight service dogs trained in North Texas are now starting new lives with children, adults and veterans with disabilities.

They finished Canine Companions at the Baylor Scott & White Health-Kinkeade campus in Irving on Friday in front of an audience of supporters and canine friends.

This is a day about two years in the making.

“We were thrilled to be part of this wonderful organization because of their mission and purpose, and the fact that they provide these wonderful dogs for free to people who need them,” said Judy Eastburn, who volunteered for several months as a volunteer. “puppy picker” for companion dogs.

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Puppy raise volunteers typically spend 18 months with the dog, socializing it and teaching it 30 basic commands, before heading to the Canine Companions campus for about six months of professional training.

During the last two weeks the dogs have been working and bonding with their new handlers.

“Pick up things I drop, open doors, turn on light switches,” said Steve Blackman, a retired Army sergeant. “She’ll also be able to open drawers, close drawers, climb into the fridge if I need it.”

Blackman already knows how much a service dog will improve his life. His first passed away last fall after 11 years of marriage.

He says the dog helped him cope with the loss of eight friends in Iraq.

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“Before you know it, you’ll be living a completely new life than the one you had before,” Blackman said. “Your depression is gone, your anxiety is starting to go away, and all these things are starting to happen, they were never taught to you in class. They didn’t train the dog. It’s just your bond with the dog that inevitably causes it.”

Blackman can’t wait to see how the next chapter unfolds with Priscilla, the dog raised by Eastburn and her husband.

They gave her leash to Blackman and his wife at the graduation ceremony.

“When we took on the role of puppy caregiver, we knew she would leave us one day and we are so excited to have her as part of Steve’s family,” Eastburn said.

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Canine Companions, founded in 1975, has six regions across the country and serves all 50 states. The South Central Learning Center, the Baylor Scott & White-Kinkeade campus, is located in Irving, Texas and serves the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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