BluePath Service Dogs

Excerpt from East Fishkill Living Magazine For 26 years, Caroline and Jody worked together at guide dog school. After Caroline’s first 18 there, she founded an autism service dog program that altogether has placed 90 dogs with families. “It was incredibly successful and changed my world,” says Caroline, so much so that she and Jody […]

How it All Began: When I was about nine years old, I asked my parents if I could raise a service dog since some girls in my 4H club were raising service dogs, too. They told me that I could do it once I reached high school, probably thinking that I would forget about it by

How it All Began: I love animals and I love the idea of helping raise an animal for a purpose. Puppy raising combines both of these interests while also allowing me to bring my family closer together and help people who would benefit from having a service dog. I’m hopeful that my volunteer work will inspire

Aimee and Mary on a kayak. How it All Began: I’ve always been keen on the healing power of animals. When I learned about the hardships my friends met while raising children with autism, I realized that, even though I couldn\’t eradicate these difficulties, I could raise a puppy in hopes that people facing a similar

Kathleen and her husband, Stephen, with Duke. How it All Began: I loved dogs and I loved the idea of raising a dog for someone else. I have a good friend whose daughter is on the spectrum. When she was little, she loved watching my dog’s tail wag back and forth. It was then, in 1998,

Nicole and her first BluePath puppy, Pearl. How it All Began: I wanted to have a dog in New York City but wasn’t ready to make a long commitment. Raising a puppy allowed me to do both while knowing I was making an impact on other people’s lives. Favorite Part of Volunteering for BluePath: It’s fun to

By Maddy Zarro I was six when my brother regressed, so I remember how it changed our family. The constant doctor’s appointments, the hours spent in waiting rooms. The cabinets bursting with medication, the never-ending stream of therapists in and out of our home. Most of all, though, I remember the fear. The way my

BluePath would like to thank our friends at Good Reasons for generously donating a year\’s supply of treats for our dogs in Formal Training. Good Reasons is a locally-owned, not-for-profit dog treat company that creates scrumptious, human-grade all natural dog treats, while providing employment opportunities to people with autism and other developmental disabilities. Not only does

We are pleased to welcome Maureen Mellett to our training department. Maureen will join forces with Caroline and assist in the training of our dogs in our Formal Training and Dog Placement Programs, as well as support our Foster and Puppy Raising Programs. Maureen began her dog training career in 2004 as a guide dog

By Anne Garretson Mikey arrives and I’m filled with the worry-filled excitement of raising a BluePath puppy whose future is immensely important. Every day dawns another chance for him to learn good manners and gain confidence. We have a whole year to do that. Uh-oh, we ONLY have a year. I don’t want to screw