It may not seem like it now but these dogs are going to have serious jobs. They’re on the path towards becoming service dogs through the BC & Alberta Guide Dogs’ new breeding and training facility in Delta.
At just a few weeks old, these guys still need a lot of sleep. They’re among the first litters to have been bred and born at the facility, whose state-of-the-art technology is helping the team here to meet the growing demand for guide dogs.
Linda Thornton leads the breeding program.
“This is a very unique unit, the first of its kind in Western Canada for sure.”
“So we ultrasound our girls for pregnancy. We do that about 28 days after they’ve been bred. And this is what an ultrasound looks like of a baby.”
She says the speed and accuracy of their new equipment is game changing. They’re expecting to double the number of service dogs they graduate within the next few years.
Bill Thornton, who runs the organization, says the 10,000 square foot building came at a cost of $8.1 million, made possible by donations, federal grants, and extensive planning – and made necessary by an explosion in demand.
“This has been 30 years in the making,” said Thornton. “Over all that period of time, exponentially, the number of people who wanted these dogs, multiplied, just beyond our scope.”
That’s because service dogs aren’t just for the visually impaired anymore – research has found that people with autism – veterans with PTSD – and first responders dealing with burnout can all greatly benefit from them.
Upstairs, volunteers put their pups through their paces – which for some, is still a work in progress.
As they prepare for the final, more specialized training that stands between them and being matched with their partners – a pairing that Thornton says can be life-changing.
“If a person’s goals were to go from A to B, you’ll actually find they’re at D, they’re all the way through the alphabet, they got to Z, they’re doing absolutely everything and they’re achieving things that they didn’t think they could possibly do before.”
But it can also have a major impact on the people who raise them. Take Lori Coghill – who just helped Phil graduate to a role with the Port Coquitlam Fire Department.
“Being able to see him go through the ceremony and be sworn in, was just the proudest moment. He was amazing,” said Coghill.
While there’s a long road between the neonatal unit and the front lines – the future of the service dog workforce has all the support they need to dream big.
