La Quinta Volunteer Raising Future Assistance Dog

La Quinta resident Kayla Branscum recently brought home an adorable black Labrador Retriever puppy named Waldi. Although she has quickly fallen in love with the smart and playful bundle of fur, Kayla’s intention is to give her away. If all goes well, Waldi will become an assistance dog for someone with a disability through Canine Companions for Independence. Canine Companions enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly-trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships.

As a volunteer puppy raiser, Kayla provides lots of age-appropriate socialization opportunities, basic training and a loving home for the puppy for about 14 to 16 months. After Kayla’s time with Waldi, the puppy will train for an additional six months with professional instructors before getting matched with a child, adult or veteran with a disability. At only three months old, Waldi is already working on basic commands: Sit, Down and Let’s Go.

By the time Waldi graduates, she will be trained in about 40 commands designed to make everyday life easier for someone with a physical or developmental disability. She will open and close doors, retrieve dropped objects, activate light switches and more. Outside of practical tasks, Waldi will provide immeasurable emotional benefits to her human partner.

Canine Companions invests about $50,000 in each assistance dog. Thanks to generous supporters like Kayla, the organization is able to provide the dogs, their training and ongoing follow-up services completely free of charge to clients.

“I saw a woman raising a puppy for wounded service personnel,” Kayla recalls. “I thought, wow, wouldn’t that be an amazing thing to do? To be a small part of something that will make a huge difference in someone’s life. I searched the internet and found Canine Companions for Independence. How blessed I have been ever since! The joy is indescribable.”

Waldi is Kayla’s second Canine Companions puppy. The first puppy she raised, named Aspen, is in his final stage of training at Canine Companions’ center in Oceanside.

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About Canine Companions for Independence:
Canine Companions for Independence provides highly-trained assistance dogs to children, adults and veterans with disabilities. Established in 1975, Canine Companions has six training centers across the country. Canine Companions is recognized worldwide for the excellence of its dogs, and the quality and longevity of the matches it makes between dogs and people. For more information, visit cci.org or call 1-800-572-BARK.