Can-Do Canines puppies move on to next stage of service dog training

NEW HOPE, Minn. (FOX 9) - A litter of adorable puppies will soon help local families with special needs.

On Tuesday, seven young Labrador retrievers stopped by Can-Do Canines in New Hope, Minnesota to meet their new volunteer caretakers.

Can-Do-Canines is a nonprofit that has trained more than 650 service dogs since 1989, all for free.

Before meeting their new trainers, the puppies spent several weeks training with prisoners in Duluth. They will eventually work as assistance dogs for local families with special needs after they leave their trainers.

Soon, this new litter of dogs will act as service dogs for people needing diabetic alerts, seizure assistance and other concerns.

At the same time as the puppies were moving onto the next stage of their training, a military family from South Dakota was at the facility to greet their new service dog named Quiz. 

National Guardsman Corey Briest was severely hurt in a roadside bomb in Iraq back in 2005. He suffered a traumatic brain injury that caused him to lose his eyesight.  

“She’ll be a huge part of our family just like our last one was and it just gives us the extra feeling of security and gives Corey a feeling an independence back,” Corey’s wife, Jenny, said.