Volunteers are the heart and soul of the NEADS community. No matter what role they play – Puppy Raisers, Puppy Sitters, Canine Center and Breeding Center volunteers, Board of Directors, prison inmates, and many others – their devotion and commitment to our mission is ever-present in the work they do.
To truly do justice to their efforts, we have decided to feature them in three separate articles. In this first installment, we recognize the volunteers who are involved in the direct care of our dogs.
Hawkins Canine Center (HCC) Volunteers
Volunteers help during our busiest times of the day, either 9am-11am or 1pm-3pm, Mondays through Fridays, and some weekends during the summer. There’s no “typical” shift, as volunteers do anything that needs to get done that day. This could include playing with dogs, taking them for walks, preparing our endless amount of Kongs, taking out trash, sweeping, emptying poop bins, cleaning and setting up kennels, and spending quiet 1 on 1 time with dogs… The list is never-ending.
“Volunteering in the HCC has brought so much joy to my life. I have the opportunity to interact with dedicated and professional NEADS staff and other volunteers, who are constant reminders of the importance of committing to serve a cause beyond ourselves. And, of course, I have the opportunity to spend time with wonderful and intelligent dogs that will be making a difference in many people’s lives. My time volunteering at NEADS has continued to be something I look forward to every time I go to the campus, and I hope that I have been able to contribute positively in some way to this wonderful organization, whose cause I deeply believe in.” – HCC volunteer Ryan
“Whether I’m volunteering in the new Breeding Center or into the Hawkins Canine Center, I feel welcomed, appreciated, and valued. I love everything I ‘get’ to do as a volunteer, and it makes me feel purposeful, productive, and happy that I am contributing in some way to the NEADS organization. And every staff member is willing to explain what they do, why they do it, and the lengthy process of becoming a Service Dog. As a volunteer, I find the process fascinating, very specific, and thoughtful. I am in awe at how much each staff member puts into every dog and their specific care and training. It is an amazingly positive environment.
My volunteer Monday mornings are the brightest parts of my week. I am such a lucky person!” – HCC & Breeding Center volunteer Debbie
HCC volunteer Sarah fills Kongs for the dogs.
Breeding Center Volunteers
A group of about 20 volunteers help with the daily operations at the Breeding Center, taking on everything from dishes and laundry to exercising puppies and dogs. These volunteers collectively contribute around 50 hours every single week – we simply could not run our facility and breeding program without them!
A favorite activity of Breeding Center volunteers is puppy massages. Service Dogs must be comfortable being handled and touched all over their body. From the time the puppies are just a few days old, volunteers massage the puppies so that they grow up being comfortable when they are touched, petted, or gently held in a restraint for vet procedures.
Breeder Caretakers
Breeder Caretakers welcome a NEADS breeding dog into their home for the duration of the dog’s breeding career. They provide love and daily care to the dog and bring the dog to the NEADS Breeding Center when the dog is needed for breeding purposes. When the dog they care for is mom or dad to a litter, the Breeder Caretaker and their family can visit the Breeding Center to meet the puppies who will become Service Dogs in Training. We currently have 20 Breeder Caretakers.
Transport Volunteers
Approximately 30 volunteers help out by transporting puppies and dogs between NEADS and other organizations in the Service and Guide Dog industry. They may drive a puppy to Logan Airport or travel as far as Pennsylvania or Maryland to help us move puppies and breeding dogs between schools. Since September 2022 (the start of our fiscal year) transport volunteers have completed roughly 40 transports on behalf of NEADS.
Puppy Sitters
While the formal Weekend Puppy Sitting program is currently suspended, we have a small group of sitters who can take a puppy home for anywhere from two days to two weeks to expose it to a home environment while giving it individual care and attention.
Once a puppy turns eight weeks of age, they typically move into a formal training slot with a Puppy Raiser or Inmate Handler. If a training slot is not available when a puppy turns eight weeks old, Puppy Sitters help fill the gap. Puppy Sitters work on crate training, housebreaking, and manners to ensure that a puppy is not missing out on important training time.
Volunteer Veterinarians
NEADS dogs need consistent health monitoring throughout their training. This includes routine exams and care, orthopedic screenings, and vaccinations. To get all this done, NEADS partners with nearly three dozen veterinary practices, and has five veterinary clinics staffed by voluntary veterinarians within prison facilities to provide care for the dogs in training. Many thanks to Dr. Cribb, who, accompanied by two students from the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, holds veterinary clinics in Concord Medium and Concord Farm facilities, and Dr. Klein, Dr. Merrill, and Dr. Elbaz, who hold clinics in North Central Correctional (Gardner) and MCI Norfolk.
Other veterinarians provide invaluable specialty advice. Dr. Cribb, for example, advises on difficult medical situations and has connected us with specialists associated with Tufts. Dr. Cribb has also carefully selected students assigned to visit the NEADS Breeding Center to learn about and take part in young puppy care.
Dr. Clara Williams is a board-certified ophthalmologist who comes to NEADS four times a year to do eye clinics for our potential breeders, active breeders, and any other dogs in the program that are having eye issues. Dr. Williams currently practices at The Veterinary Eye Center of New York City in Manhattan. She travels to Massachusetts and provides her services at the clinic completely free of charge to NEADS.
Prison PUP Program - Incarcerated Individual Handlers & Prison Liaisons
There are many moving parts of our Prison PUP Program, and Prison Liaisons, working with NEADS staff, are critical to help keep it running smoothly. While the liaisons are employees of the prisons, most of them volunteer for the role of liaison.
Incarcerated individuals apply for the volunteer position of Inmate Handler and are selected by the Prison Liaisons. The men and women who are selected are usually described as model inmates with exceptional records. We currently have approximately 90 Inmate Handlers in six prisons and one to two Prison Liaisons for each of our six prison facilities.
Read the entire series here:
Part 1 – Volunteers Who Help Care for Our Dogs
