Coffee Creek and Canine Companions for Independence

Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville works with puppies being trained for Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). And for every puppy they get, someone needs to provide veterinary care. We, at VCA North Portland Veterinary Hospital, have been fortunate to be involved in these dogs’ lives.

Rover is the most recent pup to come through the program that we were lucky enough to work with. We’d like to share with you what it takes to become a CCI dog.

Rover was born at a volunteer Breeder Caretaker’s home to a Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) breeder dog. For the first 8 weeks of Rover’s life he lived with his littermates and his mom.

At 8 weeks old, he went to CCI’s headquarters in Santa Rosa, California for processing and then flew to Portland to live with a volunteer Puppy Starter. The Puppy Starter’s job is to house train, socialize, and begin teaching basic commands.

Rover lived with his Puppy Starter until he was 4 months old. During that time he visited Coffee Creek Correctional Facility to meet his future handlers and get used to the environment.

Coffee Creek Correctional Facility first teamed up with CCI in 2001.  The inmates at Coffee Creek who wish to become Puppy Handlers must apply to the program. Currently, there are 10 women in the program. Each CCI puppy at Coffee Creek rotates between Puppy Handlers monthly.

From 4 months to 18 months or so, Rover lived full-time at CCCF where inmates taught him about 30 different commands, manners, and socialization. Once a month he went out with his volunteer Puppy Starter to get used to things on the outside (public transportation, restaurants, grocery stores, traffic, children, home environments, the vet , etc.).

At 18 months, he went back to CCI headquarters in Santa Rosa for Advanced Training. Advanced Training lasts for 6 months, where Rover learned to open doors, pick things up, turn on and off lights, pull wheelchairs, and other tasks that will help him serve people with disabilities.

Next stage in Rover’s training was Team Training, where he was one of 19 dogs rotating through 13 different students hoping to find the right match. A match in this stage is still a “pre-match” where he and his learn to work together over a few weeks.

If Rover had not pre-matched, then he would have likely stayed in Santa Rosa for the next Team Training opportunity, 3 months down the line.

When a match works out, then it is considered final. Rover found his match and his Coordinator from Portland, Heather and also his Puppy Starter, headed down to Santa Rosa for his graduation ceremony. Part of the graduation ceremony is when his leash is handed over to his new person.

Heather says:
“It’s always a very anxious time waiting to hear and hoping he matches. Anything can happen. Sometimes dogs can even get released from the program up to the day of graduation so we all sit on pins and needles waiting until the time we can hand the leash over.”

Rover was placed as a Service Dog with a 22 year-old woman named Kiersten. Kiersten has had two previous CCI dogs as a child so Rover is her third working dog. Before getting a Service Dog, Kiersten hardly spoke a word. Now she’s a public speaker. And Rover thinks she’s the bees knees. They are perfect together!