Canine Partners For Life assistance dog organization needs more volunteers to help raise puppies

WEST FALLOWFIELD TWP., Pa. (WPVI) — Community puppy homes weren’t always available for the Canine Partners for Life program in the numbers they needed, but now those numbers are truly scarce due to the pandemic.

Now CPL is turning to volunteers to help bring more puppies into its program.

Rusty spent a few weeks being trained in a puppy home. The 11-week-old is one of a dozen puppies currently in community homes for the Canine Partners for Life program.

The organization says they normally like to have 50-70 puppies being trained at one time.

Before the pandemic, the program was based on a partnership with prisons in the region.

“We really need puppy handlers right now because we normally have 45 handlers handling the puppy program,” said program coordinator Deb Bauer. “Some of our prisons have had to close their puppy programs due to the pandemic.”

The organization, which is now in desperate need of volunteers, is appealing on social media for puppy breeders or CPL not to be able to bring more animals into the program.

“So if we don’t have homes, we can’t bring in puppies, which means we can’t place as many service dogs with people who need them,” she said. .

Animals eventually become certified service dogs with those with physical disabilities, mobility impairments, or medical conditions, allowing these people to live an independent quality of life.

For Emily Saure, this is one of the reasons why she volunteers.

“It’s so much fun watching them grow, learning their commands and it’s worth seeing the independence they give someone one day,” Saure said.

And this independence depends heavily on the volunteers who mobilize to raise these puppies.

For more information on how to volunteer, CLICK HERE.