By Mark Maloney, MSUEagles.com
Robyn Leighton loves dogs.
But she loves people, too.
Which is why she, along with brother C.J. and mother Debra, trains service dogs. To help people.
You may know Leighton as the premier long-ball hitter on the Morehead State softball team.
A senior catcher from Parker, Colo., she led the Eagles last season by tying the school record for home runs, 12. Her 21Â career homers tie her for third on MSU's all-time list.
She's excited about the young season, with goals of a good team performance and, personally, being a leader on and off the field. She wants to leave the program better off than it was when she arrived on campus.
As a trainer of service dogs, she certainly has left her canine friends better off than when they arrived as puppies.
Robyn was about 10 when Debra proposed that the family pursue training dogs.
"We were like 'OK, we get a dog!" Robyn said. "But I don't think we realized how hard it would be in the end to give the dog up."
After working with a Golden Retriever named Roxa – Roxa IV, actually, as the dogs come to the family already named – the family took a few years off from training because Robyn and C.J. were heavily involved in sports.
The family resumed training about two years ago, working with a dog named Jolly (III).
They're now on their third dog, a Lab/Golden mix named Belle (II). They've had her since May. The Leightons get the dogs when they are about 8 weeks old.
"We train them basic commands, anywhere from 'sit' to a command called 'lap' – so they come up on the lap and they just stand there," Robyn said. "It's basically to get basic commands so that, when they go to advanced training, they learn more. Like how to turn off the lights. How to do more advanced commands so they can help whoever they go to.
"We do basic health. So we brush their teeth every night, just like a human would. We brush her coat, give her baths often. There's certain things we can and can't do. She can only have a certain amount of toys and we can't keep her unsupervised with some of the toys. There's only certain food we can feed her. That kind of stuff – very strict."
Nor is Belle allowed on a couch or to cuddle in bed. This is serious training for a serious job.
The rules are set by the parent organization, Canine Companions for Independence, which is headquartered in Santa Rosa, Calif. The group's closest chapter to MSU is in Dayton, Ohio.
The Leightons typically keep a dog for about 18 months, perhaps two years. The idea is to have the dog "graduate" to a higher level of training. Debra, who works at the University of Kentucky's Albert B. Chandler Hospital, has taken Belle to work. C.J., a UK freshman (and a manager with the Wildcats' softball team), has taken Belle to school. And Robyn, who will graduate in May with a degree in sports management, had Belle on the MSU campus last semester.
"I could take her to class with me, but she couldn't play around in class," Robyn said. "People couldn't pet her because she was training. … When she has her ('service dog') vest on, she's working. When she's not, she's just like a regular dog."
Service dogs help people with a wide array of disabilities, Robyn said. The blind, deaf and wheelchair-bound are among the beneficiaries. Service dogs also can be used to help children with social-function disabilities or to help calm children who are called to testify in court. Veterans suffering Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome can be helped.
"It's definitely really hard when you have to give them away," Robyn said. "We dropped our last dog off at the training center in Dayton, and the hardest part was putting her in the kennel, shutting the door and having to walk away, knowing it's probably the last time you're going to see her.
"But it's definitely rewarding, seeing some of the things that they can do. I saw a video one time of the dogs in the organization, and the dog was taking a girl's socks off of her feet. This girl had autism and she couldn't function to get her socks off. The dog was taking them off with his mouth and not even biting her, so that was pretty amazing to see."
The Leightons get to follow the progress of "their" dogs from afar, getting a copy of the canines' report cards. If their dogs do not pass advanced training, the family has an opportunity to adopt the dog.
Robyn says that Belle is her favorite so far, partly because she has been able to help with the training since the dog arrived.
Most of the dogs are Lab-Golden mixes, but there is a wide learning curve.
"There definitely are some that are slow learners, and some that are more motivated by treats," Leighton said. "That's definitely our dog now – she won't do anything without a treat."
When the dogs are ready to move on after advanced training, a graduation ceremony is held. For the Leighton dogs, that ceremony takes place in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.
"The trainers who raised the dog actually get to pass the leash to the people who are going to have the dog," Robyn said. "And that's like the most heart-warming scene. And it's definitely gut-wrenching because you're happy, but you're also sad. It's so emotional, but that's definitely the best part, when you get to give your dog over to the person who's going to kind of have their life changed."
Spoken like a true dog lover, and a people lover as well.
