Oceanside residents gains independence with new Canine Companions service dog

For Oceanside resident Beth Hutcheson, bringing home a new service dog means gaining more than a highly trained companion — it means another step toward independence.

Hutcheson, 35, graduated on Aug. 14 with Andre V, her third service dog from Canine Companions, a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Medford, New York. She was matched with Andre on Aug. 3 and spent the next two weeks learning how to work with him during Canine Companions' intensive Team Training Program.

By the end of the program, Hutcheson and Andre had become a team.

“It was out of my comfort zone, but it made me feel proud,” Hutcheson said.

Hutcheson, who lives with her parents and younger brother, has cerebral palsy and primarily uses a wheelchair to get around. She enjoys going out to restaurants with her service dog, practicing yoga and spending time with her family.

“It was quite an accomplishment,” Hutcheson’s mother, Marianne, said. “She did fantastic.”

Andre, a Labrador-golden retriever crossbreed, is trained to perform tasks that can help Hutcheson navigate daily life with greater independence.

“He’s really working out so well, even so quickly,” Marianne said.

Canine Companions is the nation’s oldest and largest service dog organization, providing service dogs and follow-up services free of charge to eligible recipients, according to John Bentzinger, the organization’s public relations and marketing manager. Bentzinger noted that it costs more than $50,000 to raise and train each dog, with the program funded through donations.

Founded more than 50 years ago, the nonprofit has eight regional training centers and serves people with disabilities across the country.

The Medford center, which serves 13 northeastern states, from Maine to Virginia, trains its dogs to perform more than 40 commands, including picking up objects, opening and closing doors and drawers and turning lights on and off.

For Hutcheson, those tasks can make a meaningful difference.

Andre is already learning to close doors behind Hutcheson and retrieve items she cannot reach. More tasks will be incorporated as the pair continues practicing together at home.

One of the commands that has already made a particular impression on her is “cover.” During the command, Andre lies across Hutcheson, providing deep pressure. The task has been especially helpful during physical therapy, when Hutcheson undergoes stretching exercises after spending much of her day in a wheelchair.

“The sound coming from Beth of relief was wonderful,” Marianne said.

Andre can also provide the same type of comfort while Hutcheson is sitting on the couch.

“She seems more content, calm,” Marianne said about her daughter. “She sometimes suffers from anxiety, and I can see already that that has changed dramatically. The dog stays with her almost 24/7, and she’s just much calmer and happier.”

During team training, Hutcheson learned how to give Andre commands and reinforce his behavior. The dogs arrive at the program already professionally trained, but the two-week course teaches the new owners how to work with their specific dog.

“It was work,” Marianne said. “But we persevered, and we got there, and it felt like such a great accomplishment.”

The two-week training program is the final step in a much longer journey for each Canine Companions' service animal.

The dogs spend their first 16 to 18 months with volunteer puppy raisers, who teach basic obedience and expose the puppies to a variety of public and private environments. The dogs then return to Canine Companions for six to nine months of professional training.

Colleen Buckley, a Canine Companions instructor who taught Hutcheson’s class, said the professional training begins broadly before being tailored to each dog’s strengths.

“For the first three months that they’re here, everybody’s training looks pretty similar,” Buckley said. “They all learn to push the same things and pick up the same things.”

As instructors learn more about each dog, they begin determining what type of work may be the best fit — that can include determining how comfortable a dog is in public, its work ethic and confidence, and how it responds to different environments and equipment.

The end result is to create a successful match between the dog and its future partner.

Four times a year, Canine Companions holds team training sessions, inviting between 12 and 15 people to live on campus for two weeks. The participants stay in accessible dorm rooms and learn how to use their dogs’ commands through hands-on instruction, field trips and lessons on animal care.

For Buckley, watching that process unfold is one of the most rewarding parts of her job.

“I get to see all the work that my coworkers and I have put into these dogs — is translating to really changing somebody’s life,” she said. “Watching the people understand the level of independence that the dog can help grant them, it’s just so rewarding.”

The benefits of a service dog can also extend beyond the physical tasks.

Buckley said the dogs can serve as a social bridge for people with disabilities, helping them connect with friends, classmates and members of their communities.

For Hutcheson, Andre is already becoming part of that community.

She wants her friends and others to understand that Andre is not simply a pet.

“I want to try and teach people that he helps me, and helps me if I need something extra,” she said.

Hutcheson and her family plan to hold a luncheon with her friends to help educate them about how to interact appropriately with a service dog.

The Hutchesons are longtime Canine Companions participants, with Andre being Beth’s third service dog. Marianne also has been involved with the organization and has a retired facility dog.

Marianne said the experience has repeatedly shown her the impact of the organization.

“Having a handicap, there are so many boundaries and obstacles all over the place,” she said. “You go to this campus, it’s so accessible. Everybody there is just wonderful and kind and knowledgeable.”

With September being National Service Dog Month, it is an opportunity to raise awareness about service dogs and the independence and support they provide to people with disabilities.

However, the significance of Andre goes beyond a national awareness month for Hutcheson.

“It makes me feel good having him,” Hutcheson said.