Nonprofit, dog breeder gets dogs to those who need them
ADAMS TWP — On Saturday morning, Feb. 21, David Titley’s 8-month-old Labrador, Alvin, was lying on top of Titley’s feet in Berkley Creek’s office in an effort to calm him down, even though he was not in any distress.
“He’s doing a positive pressure technique, he’s laying on my foot because we’re conversating, he’s feeling some tension because of my heart rate and tenor right now,” Titley said.
Alvin is trained as a service dog, so whenever he detects an elevated heart rate or increased energy in his owner, he wants to help. While it is sometimes unnecessary, it’s a habit Alvin was specifically trained to provide for Titley, who received Alvin for free through Canines for Courage and its partnership with Berkley Creek Labradors.
Titley, a veteran of the U.S. Army and a retired state trooper, attended a puppy giveaway that day at the breeder to explain to new dog owners the benefits of having that type of companionship.
“Let people know there is an opportunity for somebody who is struggling to find, at minimum, a companion dog is what Canines for Courage does, all the way up to full access,” said Titley, who lives in Chicora. “It’s just an amazing, amazing opportunity. And it changes lives. I’ve seen it change lives.”
Canines for Courage is a nonprofit that got its start through Debbi Martell and her late husband, Lee Martell, who died shortly after the couple received a dog from the breeder in 2017.
After Lee’s death, Debbi approached Berkley Creek to donate a dog to a veteran in his honor, and the idea for Canines for Courage was born.
“For Christmas a year later, we donated a puppy in his honor, in his memory, to another veteran and his family, and it kind of just went from there,” said Erin Zedreck, who owns Berkley Creek Labradors and Berkley Creek Pet Retreat with her husband, Colin Zedreck. “We tried to do it every year, and at a certain point, we formalized a nonprofit and knew that Debbi had to be part of that because we started this in her family’s honor.”
According to Erin Zedreck, the breeder works with Canines for Courage to coordinate free puppy adoptions through the nonprofit. She said the puppy schedule depends on the breeding of the dogs at Berkley Creek but people nominated to receive one through Canines for Courage get to meet new litters as they grow.
“At six weeks we have a selection visit, so typically our recipients are at the top of the list, so that way they get to pick from as many puppies as possible,” Zedreck said. “A lot of our recipients, they’ll watch the live videos and they kind of have an idea coming in of who they might want to pick.”
Martell, who is the secretary of Canines for Courage, said the nonprofit aims to provide dogs to people who have been in the military, police or other emergency response departments. It was Titley’s former military commander who nominated him to receive a dog from Canines for Courage.
Martell said anyone can be nominated to receive a dog, not just people who were in the military.
“During the pandemic, we donated to two respiratory therapists who were in the throes of working with COVID patients,” Zedreck said.
She added that while a person can be nominated at any time, it could take a while before they receive a dog. Aside from having to wait for a new litter to be born, the breeder has to keep puppies for at least eight weeks before adopting them out, as a requirement of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, which the breeder is licensed with.
“We find (8 weeks) is a good match for the pups to start bonding with their recipients,” Zedreck said. “When we get a puppy, they’re bonding right away. They’re training together. It’s just a different relationship than having a service animal.”
Zedreck said the meetings between person and puppy also help discover a puppy’s temperament and personality. The breeder also broadcasts live video to prospective recipients. They can glimpse the dogs and their personalities and even base their ultimate choice on the color or size of a puppy.
Titley emphasized a person should try to adopt a dog that has a personality that matches their own routines — an active dog for people who like to be active or a relaxed dog for those who spend more time at home.
“They have such personalities, even at four or five weeks,” Martell said.
Not every dog adopted through Canines for Courage will become a therapy or service dog. But just having a dog in a home could help stave off loneliness or feelings of self-harm, according to Titley, who said he knows people who could have benefited from having a dog.
“If you have that dog: That dog depends on you. You depend on that dog. So, guess what? I’m not going to take myself out that day because I have that dog,” Titley said. “It’s something more than yourself to break the cycle.”
Titley said he has seen the presence of dogs in relation to the military grow since he first joined the Army in 1988 — more people in military service are getting dogs to help deal with conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder. Veterans Affairs agencies are also more populated with dogs than ever before.
And a dog isn’t just beneficial to its owner, Titley said.
“It helps not only the dog, it helps the person, but it helps the people around them,” Titley said.
Titley referenced another habit Alvin practices at home that defines the attitude of a service dog — he wants to help, even in situations where it is not exactly needed.
“It’s terrible when you’re trying to do abs on the floor, because he’s laying on top of you and everything like that. It makes me laugh everyday. It’s just a thing he does,” Titley said.
For more information on Canines for Courage, or to nominate someone to receive a dog, visit its website at caninesforcourage.org.
