Home Companion Dog Program

Comfort, companionship, motivation and sometimes skills useful in the home environment, are provided by CPL home companion dogs. Our home companion dog program is designed to help individuals of all ages who have a wide range of physical, cognitive, and developmental disabilities.

People who have disabilities such as those listed below may benefit from a CPL home companion dog (application).

If your disability is not listed, however you meet the criteria above and are interested in the companionship which a home companion dog provides, you should consider applying for a CPL home companion dog.

Home companion dogs bring comfort and joy to their recipients within the context of the home environment only. A person partnered with a home companion dog does not have public access rights.

The Canine Partners For Life home companion dog program spends 1 1/2 - 2 years preparing each dog for its partnership. Home companion dogs must be physically sound, temperamentally stable, and happy working in the home environment. Great care is taken to select only the most appropriate dogs for this level of work.

1. The First Year
   During the first year puppies are placed in volunteer puppy homes. This may be a community volunteer or a volunteer inmate in our Prison Puppy Raising Program (PPRP). Puppy raising volunteers usually receive their puppy when it is seven to nine weeks old. The puppy will live, work, and play with this volunteer until it reaches the age of 12-16 months.
   
   During this year puppies are brought to puppy classes twice a month. Here they learn basic obedience skills, socialization skills, and have a fun time playing with the other pups. Puppy raisers learn the commands and techniques needed to raise and train a happy and confident puppy. Puppy raisers also socialize their pups in public daily, exposing them to environments such as restaurants, malls, city streets, and public transportation. Volunteers and prison staff help to socialize the pups in the PPRP, outside the prison walls.
   
   During the first year, all puppies are evaluated for physical, behavioral, and temperamental soundness. They are spayed/neutered and have a PennHip evaluation done to determine physical potential. At the end of the first year, those pups that will not be chosen to enter the service dog program will be evaluated for their suitability to enter the home companion dog program or our residential companion dog program.
   
   Those dogs who display physical or behavioral characteristics not suitable for any of the CPL programs enter our released dog program to be adopted by loving homes or to find alternate work environments (rescue/search work, police work, etc.).
   
   
2. The Final Stages of Training
   Dogs selected for the home companion dog program will spend additional time training with a CPL volunteer home companion home. During this time, the volunteers will refine the skills needed most by this particular home companion dog. The dog will often spend six months to a year in this second stage of training depending upon its maturity and skill levels.
   
   By the end of the second stage of training dogs in the home companion dog program will be trained to behave in a manner which:
   
   • Allows an outlet for physical activity and positive relationships
   • Motivates participation in activities such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy Promotes social interactions with others
   • Encourages self expression
   • Encourages responsibility and organizational skills
   • Brings comfort, joy, and companionship in a manner most suited to the disability of its partner
   • Makes it an easy and pleasant partner in the home environment
   • May provide assistance such as medical alerts, retrieval, tugging, and support, in the home environment
     
     
3. Team Training
   While each dog has been going through its training, the potential human partners (any age) have completed applications and participated in interviews with the CPL staff. If the human partner is accepted into the program a dog is then chosen and trained to meet their unique needs. When the dog and the human are both ready, they begin their partnership with a one on one training session with the Volunteer/Companion Coordinator. During this session they learn the skills needed to control and care for their partner. This session generally takes one day, but is dependent upon the needs of the particular team.
   
   
4. Graduation
   Completion of training is definitely a cause for celebration! Home companion teams return to the CPL campus for graduation with our service dogs. On average 200 friends, family members, and supporters are invited to a moving ceremony to celebrate the teams' accomplishments, share their goals, and to usher them into a new and exciting world filled with opportunities and independence.
   
   
5. Follow Up
   Lifetime support and follow up ensure the success of CPL teams. It is imperative that the teams continue to meet their goals and that they always work in a manner which promotes the safety of the graduate, service dog, family members, and friends. Every six months each team is required to complete a written follow up report which evaluates their progress and accomplishments. Included with this report are copies of all veterinary records, rabies licenses, and state/local licenses. Phone or email contact is made with all graduates daily for the first week, weekly for the first month, monthly for the first six months, and then twice a year thereafter. Counseling is available at all times and trainers will visit teams who need more extensive follow up.