Student Spotlight: A Journey with Zuby

Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS) is a fully voluntary program that trains assistance dogs to support people with physical disabilities. When you adopt a PADS puppy, you raise and care for it until it is about one and a half years old. After that, the dog begins advanced training at the academy. However, fewer than 40 percent of the puppies pass this stage. Those who do continue their training to learn how to assist individuals who are hard of hearing, blind, or living with paralysis. PADS has registered more than 200 dogs with the Canadian Association of Guide and Assistance Dog Schools (CAGADS).

My experience raising Zuby has been both exciting and meaningful. When I found out that we were finally getting a dog, I was thrilled because it was not just any dog but an assistance dog. Raising an assistance dog comes with many responsibilities and rules, such as no sleeping on the couch and no playing fetch. The puppy must learn to control its impulses. This is important because if the dog’s future owner is living with paralysis, it could be dangerous if the dog ran after a ball at the park and left the person behind. Whenever I feel sad that Zuby will leave one day, I remind myself that we are doing a good deed and that she will eventually help someone in need.