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"I have a strong passion for showing people that community service is more than work; it can be fun too," Bright told Paw Nation. While at Wittenberg University in Ohio (which she attended before transferring), Bright had learned about the program, which lets students who live off-campus bring home five-to-six-month-old puppies in order to help ready them to be service dogs for the disabled.
According to its Web site, 4 Paws for Ability "say[s] yes when many more traditional assistance dog placement agencies say no." The students keep the puppies for a semester, during which time 4 Paws for Ability provides food, toys, medical expenses, a crate, and a service vest.
Each caretaker's main responsibility is to socialize the puppy in different situations. The dogs must learn to be around both people and other animals, indoors and outdoors. The puppies are potty trained and able to sit through class before students take them home.
For now, only Bright and one other student are signed up for the program, and in order to be an official club at UK, at least five students are needed. We only wish this had been an option while we were in college -- doing a good deed by keeping a puppy, with food, toys and medical expenses covered by another organization? Sounds ideal!
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