‘He turns off the lights’: Bellingham group raises, trains service dogs for those in need

People can often find Kevin Ryan walking a dog around Bellingham, one that is being trained to become a full-time service dog.

Not for himself, but to help others.

Before Ryan moved to Bellingham with his family, he was in the Marine Corps as a mission officer for almost 24 years. Ryan retired in March and is now the executive director for Brigadoon Service Dogs where he spends his time making sure the organization executes its mission of providing trained service dogs for those in need.

Started in 2004, Brigadoon Service Dogs’ mission is to train and raise service dogs for people with physical or psychiatric disabilities, as well as people with serious medical conditions that prevent them from performing everyday tasks on their own.

Brigadoon has placed over 100 service dogs into partnerships with clients in need.

“We get to go to work and see dogs every day, which is fantastic. My coworkers are dogs, but it’s awesome to be able to come to work with the people that are as committed as they are to making this happen on a daily basis. It’s not easy,” Ryan said.

Ryan said they receive a puppy through cooperative arrangements, occasional donors or they are bred by Brigadoon. They are then trained by puppy raisers, which consists of an all-volunteer workforce. The volunteers teach the puppies intermediate skills using positive reinforcement and socialization where they are exposed to different people, animals and noises.

Then the dogs are sent to cooperative programs at correctional institutions.

Brigadoon Service Dogs has a partnership with Washington State Department of Corrections where the dogs are placed in any of their four Prison Programs across the state. The dogs are trained by heavily vetted inmates who help further advance their skills for about three months alongside a training instructor from Brigadoon.

“[The dogs] live amongst them and with them. We actually are very appreciative of the fact that they’re willing to give up some of the small allotted space they have to accommodate the dog crate necessary for the dogs to actually be in the cells,” Ryan said.

The dogs then are brought back to Brigadoon where they have a break and their four-month training begins, during which they learn the skills and tasks for the client they are paired with.

The clients come from a waiting list and are placed with their service dogs. They experience an intense two-week training period, where Brigadoon teaches them how to handle and keep the dogs’ training current and proficient. Brigadoon also helps the clients ensure that the service dogs know their tasks in order to help mitigate their disabilities.

“When we take on a client, we typically take them on [for] life. And so what that means is the dog, obviously their lifespan is shorter than ours and so a client might have eight to 12 years with their service animal.,” he said. “Then they likely may need another successor service dog when it’s time to retire the first one.”

Look but don’t touch

Sandra Wade, a long-time client of Brigadoon Service Dogs, is an Army veteran and served during the end of the Vietnam War. Wade also had a career in aviation where she worked with various airlines.

Wade was diagnosed with PTSD by the Veterans Association and went to Brigadoon Service Dogs with a group of veterans and civilians. At Brigadoon, she was matched with her service dog, an English yellow Labrador that Wade named Pharrell Loving Wigglebutt Wade, and they embarked on the two-week training.

Pharrell helps mitigate Wade’s PTSD and anxiety every day. When they wake up, Pharrell brings Wade her red pouch, which contains her medications.

“He turns off the lights, he likes to close the door because the door should not be open. He retrieved things, so one time we were walking and I looked down, he had my keys in his mouth and I’m like, ‘Thank goodness you found my keys that I didn’t know I had dropped’ and he’s very helpful,” she said.

When they are in public, Pharrell will pay attention to Wade when she is doing tasks such as grocery shopping. If Wade needs assistance, Pharrell has to always be on guard so he can help her.

Pharrell has a service dog vest on in public that says he is working and to not touch him, but sometimes that does not prevent people from getting his attention.

“People are just really enamored by his good looks and it’s sometimes a little struggle when someone tries to pet him and I’m trying to do my task and [I] struggle with that interaction. So it’s best that people don’t try to interact with him,” she said.

According to Brigadoon’s website, it costs an estimated $30,000 for the care, training and housing of each service dog. When eligible clients are on the wait list, Brigadoon requests that they raise $10,000 for a service dog that will be expected to be available in a year. Veterans are not expected to raise the money because of grants that help pay for the costs.

“There is no industry standard for cost, only estimates. Our goal as an organization is that clients will eventually not have to pay a fee for a service dog,” Ryan said.

Brigadoon is supported by donors, corporate sponsorships and grants so they can receive the financial resources they need to continue supporting community members with service dogs.

Ryan is looking forward to their beer and barbecue fundraiser on Aug. 5 at Boundary Bay, which is centered around their veteran clients. And on Oct. 28, the group’s annual gala and auction will be held at the Bellwether Ballroom with the goal of raising funds that support their services.

“I will add that it takes a village to begin the process from start to continued support. I’m not going to say finish because there’s no finish,” Wade said.