The University of Rhode Island Puppy Raisers Club seeks to educate students and provide opportunities to train future service dogs – all with ‘pawsitive’ spin.
The Puppy Raisers Club, led by president Kevin Buretta, works with the non-profit organization Guiding Eyes for the Blind. According to their website, Guiding Eyes provides guide dogs for people with vision loss.
According to Buretta, students can apply and take classes through Guiding Eyes in order to be a puppy raiser. This entails training a dog that varies in age, up until they’re one and a half years old. Buretta is currently raising a puppy named Chip — a six month-year-old black lab.
As a raiser, according to Buretta, it’s dire to bring the dog with you to public places and teach them commands. The training should lead them to be behaved not only at home, but in places where they may be overstimulated.
Students can also apply to be a sitter for Guiding Eyes. This entails watching over dogs, like Chip, when their raiser needs some time off.
Once dogs are raised to the point of 1 ½ years old, they undergo an ‘In For Training’ test, according to Buretta.
This test measures the ability of the dog to become a guide dog, according to Buretta. He says that in order to pass, the dog needs to know commands very well. If the dog passes, they are given to a professional handler to better their skills and further train them specifically for an individual with impaired vision.
“You’re helping to raise dogs to genuinely change people’s lives,” Buretta said. “They can’t see anything, but, then, they have a dog, and there’s a whole new world of opportunities open to them.”
Buretta says students can be involved in the club by solely attending meetings. In these meetings, students can learn about guide dogs.
On Nov. 2, the Puppy Raisers Club meeting was led by Buretta, and he explained the difference between service dogs, therapy dogs and emotional support dogs.
A video shown to club members was filmed by Zak George, a popular dog trainer and YouTuber. George explains the difference between different types of working dogs.
George said service dogs are individually trained to perform a service for one person. The United States has no requirement for certification of identification.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, service dogs can enter public places like restaurants and stores. Workers or owners of public establishments are allowed to ask the owner if the dog is a service dog, and what kind of task they perform, according to the video.
George explained the difference between therapy dogs and emotional support dogs. Emotional support animals can live in no pet housing, as well as travel on airplanes. These animals more personally provide comfort for one person.
Therapy dogs, according to George, can enter public places, like hospitals or schools, where the community would benefit from interacting with a dog.
Buretta exemplified Basil, the therapy dog on campus that provides comfort to students at the University of Rhode Island.
Buretta explained that Chip is a service dog. He provides service to people who can not see properly. Although he is in training, Buretta said that Chip has the same rights as a fully-trained service dog.
There are multiple types of service dogs, according to Buretta. There are hearing dogs who, similar to Chip, guide people who have impaired hearing. Medical alert dogs perform tasks for people who undergo life-threatening medical episodes, for example, epilepsy.
Buretta commended students on-campus for proper treatment of service dogs like Chip. He explained that it’s common to see improper greetings towards working therapy dogs. This can entail not asking to pet the dog beforehand, and greeting the dog rather than its owner.
Buretta assured club members that service dogs, like Chip, lead normal lives when they’re not working. Chip plays fetch, runs in fields, and has recently inhabited a bean bag as his favorite place to relax.
“When I’m at home with him, other than not giving him table scraps, I basically just treat him like he’s my pet,” Buretta said.
Students can see Chip and Buretta around campus, but it’s important to respect any service dog while they’re working.
After the meeting was over, club members were encouraged to interact with and pet the service dogs present, including Chip.
The Puppy Raisers Club meets Thursdays at 6 p.m. and more information can be found @puppyraisersclub on Instagram.