Canine Companions pup Lonestar graduates to professional training
IRVING – Over the last year and a half, CBS News Texas followed the journey of Lonestar, a Canine Companions pup in training to become a professional service dog.
On Feb. 7 he matriculated, which is graduating from living with his volunteer puppy raiser and moving to professional training. Lonestar was one of 24 puppies moving up to professional training.
He will be in professional training for six to nine months before officially graduating from service dog training and being placed with a handler later this year.
Lonestar's journey to becoming a service dog
Since November 2023, Lonestar and his puppy handler Larry Nelson have been visiting CBS News Texas and updating viewers with all the tricks he's learned while living with Nelson.
While living with Nelson, Lonestar mastered skills that he would use while living with a handler, like behaving on flights and in restaurants, grabbing the TV remote and calling for help, or barking, when needed. It was the first step in his training to become a service dog.
Lonestar went on trips to local fire stations, accompanied Nelson to restaurants, picked out his own toys at the pet store and attended weekly puppy training classes with fellow Canine Companions puppies in training.
As a volunteer puppy-raiser, Nelson has taken on the costs for the food, vet care, toys, etc., so a fully-trained Lonestar can go to someone with disabilities for free.
On graduation day, Lonestar was placed with a professional trainer and will go through professional training with Canine Companions staff. During professional training, Lonestar will learn how to use his nose to do things like push drawers and cabinets closed. He will also learn how to tug things like laundry baskets and how to retrieve items.
