Community Corner
Video: Dogs Graduate from Medford School
Canine Companions for Independence pairs handicapped with assistance dogs.
It has been said that dog is man's best friend... that may be especially true to recipients of Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), whose east coast headquarters is in Medford.
The group recently held its most recent graduation for its new dog recipients. The May 2011 graduation of the organization's northeast region, based in Medford, paired seven handicapped people with assistance dogs trained to be helpful companions. The nationwide organization trains dogs to assist people with disabilities other than blindness. The class underwent a two-week training period where they learned how to work with and care for the dogs.
Mike Chasse from Maine was paired with Caleb, a two-year-old Labrador Retriever. Chasse says he's really looking forward to having Caleb in his life.
Find out what's happening in Patchoguewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"It's been kind of a life-changing experience. I've always managed to keep a pretty positive attitude since my skiing injury, but this is probably the happiest I've been since it happened and a lot of it is because of this guy (Caleb). It's really a great organization with a lot of really nice people who put their heart into it," Chasse said.
Nicholas Mecca, 11 from East Moriches, is another dog recipient. His father Tony Mecca says the dog, Wasabi, is already making a huge difference in his son's life.
Find out what's happening in Patchoguewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"He has autism and we found out that this [program] was something he was able to get involved with... in just a few days he's started to come out of his shell a little bit, he's addressing the dog, there is a bond there that is starting to form already," Tony Mecca said.
Executive director of the northeast region, Debra Dougherty, says this latest graduation is really a welcome to the CCI family for the dog recipients. "It is a national family, we have thousands of graduates. Almost 16 or 17 hundred families that are active graduates... In all we've had 35 years of placements and have placed over 3500 dogs... so the family is quite large."
For more information on the organization, check www.cci.org.
.
