August 12, 2025 – Josh Brogadir, WCVB-TV
PRINCETON, Mass. — So let me get this straight: You get to play soccer on a summer day, and when training is over, a dog greets you on the sideline?
“Verna, you ready to work? Speak! Oh, good girl. Nice job. Back, back,” said Cathy Zemaitis, NEADS Chief Development and Programs Officer.
This may not seem like a workday to many, but it’s a workday for the players on the pitch and the service dogs from the NEADS program, a nonprofit in Princeton, Massachusetts, that pairs pups with people who need them most.
“(They help by) hitting the handicapped buttons, flipping the light switches on and off, picking things up if they drop it, and just going through life with them, maneuvering their way,” Zemaitis added.
This partnership is with the New England Revolution.
Guess who doesn’t mind getting dripped on by the sweat of Revs defender Will Sands?
And Will’s happy to make a new friend.
“It’s really nice (having the dogs here). Obviously, we’re very competitive. Tensions can get a little tight. Having the dogs around helps diffuse certain situations. Yeah, and just love having them around,” Sands said.
The Revs are getting ready for their next match, and some of these service dogs are not ready yet either; they, too, are in training.
“These dogs are trained largely in five different prisons in Massachusetts and Rhode Island by incarcerated individuals,” Zemaitis added.
So why are the puppies on the pitch?
In August, the Revs will honor a Hero of the Match and her NEADS assistance dog. Plus, the fans get to name a NEADS puppy.