Jim Overturf has owned many dogs in his life, but none, he said, are as special as Joanie.
Joanie came to Jim and his wife Mona in October when she was eight weeks old, but the lab puppy is more than a furry friend for the Ford’s Colony residents. Joanie is learning to be a service dog with Canine Companions for Independence, a national nonprofit that provides highly trained assistance dogs to enhance the lives of children and adults with disabilities.
The Overturfs are an unusual brand of volunteers: It is their job to raise Joanie until she is 18 months old, teaching her an arsenal of basic commands before turning her over to advanced training with CCI.
Her lessons now include standard commands like sit and stay, but later in her education, Joanie will learn behaviors tailored to assisting someone with limited mobility, like closing doors, turning on light switches or fetching a bottle of water.
In addition to bearing the expenses of raising a young dog – food, vet bills and toys – the Overturfs work to socialize Joanie, taking her to parks, stores and other public places around town to get used to interacting with people in various settings.
“She’s never met anybody that she doesn’t like,” Jim said.
Longtime dog lovers, the Overturfs had contributed to CCI in the past and believed in its mission. After losing their family dog last year, they wanted to find a way to fill the void while giving back.
Joanie keeps the retired couple busy, requiring round-the-clock supervision when not in her crate, along with time spent learning commands.
“We’ve both said we see why people have babies and puppies while they’re young, because it’s a lot of work,” Mona laughed.
At supplementary training sessions twice a month in Richmond, Joanie is not afraid to get in the mix with other dogs, even those much larger than her puppy-sized frame.
“There was no timidity with her,” Jim said.
But training Joanie is not all work.
“It’s just fun to watch her,” Mona said. “She just has a lot of joy.”
Mona loves seeing her puppy qualities out in full force – Joanie is silly, has zeal for adventure, and is almost never grouchy, unless she needs a nap. Jim calls it an enthusiasm for life.
At the end of her time with the Overturfs, Joanie will travel to one of CCI’s five regional training centers, where she will receive intense instruction for another six months.
Teachers consider each dog’s personality and skillset to make matches with applicants, who have gone through an application and multi-step screening process.
Dogs are only given to applicants who prove to be a good fit after two weeks of training together, and if the animals meet CCI’s high standards for graduation. For example, one of the tests involves throwing a handful of kibble in the dog’s path, and to pass the dog must walk past it on command.
The training is so rigorous that only four out of 10 dogs pass on average. Those who do not make the cut are offered first to their puppy raiser families, and then there is a waiting list for others to adopt them as pets.
The waitlist to be invited to team training to be matched with a dog is currently 18 months to two years, and last year 51 service dogs were placed in the northeast region, which stretches from Maine to Virginia.
“That’s the reason the puppy raisers are so important to us,” said John Bentzinger, public relations coordinator for CCI’s northeast region, who called the volunteers the backbone of the organization. “The more people who raise puppies, the more people we can serve.”
He stressed the commitment made by volunteers like the Overturfs to take dogs into their homes, raise them as a members of the family and then face the hardship of giving them up, even if the reward of seeing them off into a life of service is powerful.
“It’s an amazing lesson for a family to take a dog like this, and love it and know that it’s going to go forward and make a difference in the life of a person with disabilities,” Bentzinger said.
The Overturfs are not yet anxious about having to part with Joanie. They went into this process knowing the outcome, Jim said, but Mona acknowledged it would be impossible not to get attached.
“For me, it was the thought that we would be helping to raise a dog who might be able to help someone else at some point in time,” Mona said.
The Overturfs know of other puppy raisers in the area who are on their 10th dog, and are not ruling out the possibility of bringing another young dog home after their time with Joanie is complete.
To learn more about CCI, visit its website.
