Catch Up With Little Angels' Superheroes In Training!
Grandma Lucy’s is a proud partner of Little Angels Service Dogs, a 501c3 non-profit, and supporter of the life-changing work that they do. Through training service dogs for psychiatric support, mobility, seizure alerts, and more, Little Angels gives newfound freedom to many people. Not only did Grandma Lucy’s have the honor of naming a litter of golden retriever puppies in service dog training, but in June the Grandma Lucy’s team was invited to visit the Little Angels’ ranch in San Diego, CA. The crew had an amazing time seeing the Little Angels dogs’ training in action, and got to catch up with the litter we named after The Office.
When we first introduced The Office litter, these balls of fluff and energy were only eight weeks old and just getting to know the world. This time they were just as cute, only bigger and more mischievous! While the puppies kept us laughing with their antics, we got a firsthand look at the training and skills these pups are learning, and could already see the future superheroes they are blossoming into. We had a blast recreating the puppies’ first The Office themed photoshoot, even when Jim tried to sneak a bite of the Jell-O we had Dwight’s stapler in! It may have taken a little patience and plenty of Organic Oven Baked Treats, but it all paid off with plenty of adorable puppy photos. All the puppies have been working hard with their handlers, but Stanley blew everyone away with his work ethic and modeling skills- this pup is going to change one lucky recipient’s life and is shaping up to be a rockstar already.
It isn’t all puppies and sunshine though, there is so much work and dedication taking place behind the scenes to prepare each and every dog for their most important job. Director of the San Diego location, Steph, and Executive Director, Josh, were kind enough to give our team a full tour of the facility and the amazing dogs who call this beautiful property home. The ranch is home to up to forty dogs at a time, and every dog receives plenty of one-on-one attention and lots of playtime when they are not busy training- and, of course, lots of Grandma Lucy’s treats! Head trainer, Jen, demonstrated how they train dogs to alert for seizures. Many learned tasks and behaviors must come together for the dogs to perform their lifesaving jobs seamlessly. Dogs being trained to alert for seizures first must learn to identify the seizure scent, and then build other skills on top of this like alerting their handler, and even dialing 9-1-1! Little Angels service dogs are real life superheroes to the humans they assist.
Without a doubt, every dog at Little Angels is special, but not every pup has what it takes to be a service dog. Not only does every dog have to be able to perform the necessary tasks as trained, but it also takes a special kind of personality. If a puppy hopes to make it to graduation, they need to also have confidence and stay cool and collected under pressure and in unfamiliar situations. Dogs who do not check these boxes may not be cut out for service dog work, but they are still amazing pets and family members. If you would like to adopt your own angel, be sure to check out Little Angels’ adoptees!
Thank you, Josh, Steph, Jen, and the rest of the Little Angels team for all that you do, and for being so welcoming to our crew! We could not be prouder to support these amazing dogs and their people.
Danielle Contreras