Canine Companions for Independence (CCI)

Thought I would share some information about CCI.

Founded in 1975, Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) is a non-profit organization that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships.

CCI breeds Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and crosses of the two to become assistance dogs. CCI dogs are trained to cultivate their abilities and they place their dogs in teams that will utilize their training and celebrate their spirits. CCI dogs are trained to perform a variety of tasks.

CCI does not train dogs to do guide work for the blind, to do seizure or diabetic alert/response, to anticipate or detect medical symptoms, for the primary benefit or emotional comfort or social support, to recognize and/or manage undesirable human behavior, to provide supervision, navigation, or safety from environmental hazards, to respond aggressively, to provide personal protection, or to assist with the management of mental illness as a primary condition.

CCI assistance dogs are trained for four types of assistance dogs: service dogs, facility dogs, skilled companions, and hearing dogs.

• Service dogs are partnered with adults with physical disabilities to assist with daily tasks and increase independence by reducing reliance on other people. This type of service dog can pull their partner in a manual wheelchair, push buttons for elevators and/or automatic doors, and also assist with business transactions by transferring money, receipts, and packages.
• Facility dogs are expertly trained dogs that are partnered with a facilitator working in a health care, visitation or education setting.
• Skilled companion dogs are trained to work with an adult or child with a disability under the guidance of a facilitator. A facilitator is usually a parent, a spouse, or a caregiver who handles and cares for the assistance dog; will encourage a strong bond between the recipient and the skilled companion dog; and who is responsible for the customized training needs of the dog.
• Hearing dogs are trained to alert partners to key sounds by making physical contact, such as nudging the person's leg or arm. These dogs are trained to recognize and respond to a doorbell, alarm clock, a smoke alarm, or someone calling a name.

Puppy raisers provide obedience training (puppy classes), serve up a healthy diet, provide socialization opportunities and give lots of love. Puppies in training are in the care of their puppy raiser from 16 - 21 months. After this time the puppy is returned to their regional office to proceed into the professional training phase of the program. This phase typically last six months (in some cases it may be nine months). 

CCI is funded by private contribution and provides all dogs and services free of charge (www.cci.org).

There is so much more to know about this incredible organization, more than there is room on this page, but I thought it important to spend a little bit of time to share the reasons why we are taking this journey and some of the reasons why we will be able to say goodbye in just a short 16 months.