NEADS opens breeding center, expanding service dog capability
STERLING — The new NEADS Breeding Center, in the works for a couple years, from planning to construction, is now operational, with puppies running around in anticipation of training for their future jobs assisting humans.
A grand opening was held for the $2.6 million facility in June. It was an opportunity to show off the location that will help NEADS provide for the process from breeding to training.
The new center is a far cry from the two whelping rooms in NEADS' nursery when it started the breeding program in 2017.
Realizing a larger facility was needed, NEADS started work toward the new site about a quarter mile down the road from its main campus on Route 140 in Princeton.
With an increase in its pool of dogs bred specifically for service work, the facility will be able to accommodate up to 10 litters at a time, up from the nursery’s two litters.
“This is a game changer for the NEADS breeding program, which will allow us to serve more clients across all of our programs,” NEADS CEO Gerry DeRoche said.
“We currently have over 400 working service dog teams across the U.S., and we hope to increase our clients with the addition of the new breeding center.”
“The breeding center is designed to give purpose-bred puppies the best start on the path to becoming service dogs to work with people with disabilities,” said Kate Albertini, manager of breeding and puppy development.
“As one of our clients famously said, ‘It takes an extraordinary dog to give someone an ordinary life,’ and this facility will tremendously help us in our mission to breed more extraordinary service dogs,” Albertini said.
Features of the new center include a breeding suite, delivery room, five whelping rooms for younger litters, and transition pods for older litters.
Two vet care stations are included, and a behavior checklist testing area, also known as a socialization room, will help determine temperaments of the puppies. Besides runs and a kennel area, a sound system provides quieter, calming noises in the whelping rooms and louder sounds for socialization in the transition pods.
A central work hub for the quarantine area of the center provides space where volunteers and staff can make food, clean toys, and monitor all the rooms on-camera.
A stone from the original steps of the old farmhouse that was on the site was repurposed as a 650-pound address marker.
A meditation garden features plantings and benches named in memory of Herman Kensky, father of NEADS client Jessica Kensky, and a sculpture, “Foundations of the Past,” is made from pieces of brick, stone and granite foundations from the site, the main campus, and select local locations that reflect NEADS’ past as much as the breeding center reflects the organization’s future.
A leadership gift from Larry and Nanine Costa highlighted donations for the facility. The puppies that enter the NEADS program will be named through the organization’s Name a Puppy Program. Information on NEADS is available at www.neads.org.
The grand opening included event partner Wachusett Brewing Co., House Rep. Kimberly Ferguson, former state Attorney General Martha Coakley, State Sen. Anne Gobi, and Tracey Stoll with NEADS assistance dog Gleason, along with NEADS staff, clients, volunteers and puppy raisers.
This article originally appeared on The Landmark: NEADS opens breeding center, expanding service dog capability
