If you’ve walked or driven through Downtown Cary, you’ve possibly seen Margot Bennett out and about with one of her trainees. A trainer of service dogs, Margot likes to bring her four-legged students out to learn commands and socialize amongst their friendly neighbors and fellow Caryites! We recently learned more about the work she’s doing locally, and wanted to share her story:

Q: What inspired you to begin training dogs for service work?

A: I began volunteering as a puppy raiser for Guiding Eyes For The Blind after working in Human Resources promoting hiring those with disabilities. I already had a yellow Lab at home and it just fit blending the two together.

Q: How many dogs have you trained?

A: I am currently raising my 10th service dog. Several have gone into Guide work, one is a Service Dog, one is a Facility Dog, one went into Police work, one went into Therapy Work, and the others were released as Change Of Career pups.

Q: What's the difference between a service dog and a therapy dog?

A: A Service Dog is trained for specific tasks to assist someone with a disability. They are covered under ADA and are allowed anywhere under that law. A Service Dog wears a vest for identification that says it is a working service dog, and should never be approached or pet as they are working, and that could distract them from focusing on their partner. Therapy Dogs are certified pet dogs who, with their owner, provide comfort in a variety of settings-hospitals, nursing homes, schools, sometimes even in areas of trauma. They only wear a therapy dog vest when they go on visits and are not covered under ADA to be allowed inside public places.

Q: Do the dogs come to you from the owner, as puppies? How does that work?

A: Therapy dogs can come from a variety of places- their owners determine their fit for therapy after they've been together and come to know each other. Therapy dogs can come from a shelter, some are rescues, some from breeders. The Service Dogs I work with are bred at a breeding center on the main campus of the organization. For the first 8 weeks of the puppy life, they are cared for by Breeder Caretakers and staff and volunteers who attend to their needs, provide playtime and socialization and snuggle with them. The puppies are then flown all over the country to puppy raisers when they are 8 weeks old. We have some amazing volunter pilots who privately fly the puppies at no charge. My last puppy, who is now a Facility Dog, was flown on a private plane with 13 other puppies!! Sometimes puppies are transported in a car to their raisers if the distance allows.

Q: How long does it take (generally or specifically) to complete service work training for each dog?

A: Puppy raisers generally work and train their dog from 18-24 months. It can be fluid based on the litters going out, when teams graduate and so on. As puppy raisers, we teach the dogs about 30 commands as well as socialize them, getting them used to wearing a coat, being around people and traffic and noises. After puppies are turned in to the training centers, they are then trained for about 6 months. There they fine tune those skills, and learn to string commands together. Then, they are matched with their partner and trained for another 2 weeks or so. By the time all is said and done, they are a little over 2 years old.

Q: What does it cost for someone to receive a Service Dog from Canine Companions or Guiding Eyes For The Blind?

A: Nothing. Through amazing donors, vet sponsors, reduced rates for supplies and volunteers who absorb the cost, there is no charge for receiving these amazing heros.

Q: What are the best dog breeds for service work? Do you work with a specific breed?

A: The Service Dogs at Canine Companions are Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and a cross between the two. At Guiding Eyes For The Blind, they are Labrador Retrievers and German Shepherds. These schools breed their own litters and have kept databases on all their litters going back for decades.

Q: What would you like people to understand, or learn, about the importance of service dogs?

A: Service Dogs perform tasks that lead to more independence and confidence for their partner. They provide comfort and relief to those suffering with PTSD. They are a best friend to a child who needs a hug while they are testifying in court. They help lead their blind partner to places (work, friends, stores) so that they can live independantly. They can provide medical alerts in some cases as well-to elevated heart rates, blood sugar highs and lows, seizures. They are life savers and heroes.

Q: You have published books for sell. Can you tell us about those?

A: Yes! After realizing we had rotating dogs in our house serving in various helper capacities, I decided it was time to tell their stories. I thought writing them as children's books from the dogs point of view, and including educational back matter about the particular work they do, the schools they are trained with and so on, would be fun and educational-for kids, parents and teachers. I decided to write a children's books series titled Tails Of Dogs Who Help, and to publish them myself and donate the proceeds back to the schools where the dogs are trained. Knowing I've raised a Service Dog, a Guide Dog, a Facility Dog and worked with a Therapy Dog-my books were already titled!!! I will most likely end with the book about the first dog we ever raised-Decker. Decker was released for medical reasons and became our dog, who then mentored several more along the way. Because the books are self published, I used modified photographs from throughout their lives to illustrate their journey, arranged to create an LLC to publish them and helped in the design of the books. They are not perfect, but their stories are and that's what is important. I have a goal to have every school and library have a copy of these books so everyone can learn how important these dogs are that help. I'd love help with that goal!!

Margot’s Books Available for Order:

"Brisco, Life As A Therapy Dog" is the first book in the series. "Meet Brisco, a therapy dog who tells the story of how he helps people in the community. Follow his life from puppy-in-training to professional therapy dog, building special bonds along the way by just being himself."

"Ely, Life As A Service Dog Puppy" is the second book in the series. "Meet Ely, a handsome yellow Lab who tells the story of his journey becoming a service dog. Follow his life from puppy born of the E litter, to working with a puppy raiser and finally into advanced training, where he finds the perfect match to work with as a service dog.

Margot is able to sell and deliver author copies if you email through the contact information below. Purchasing author copies allow more proceeds to be donated to the schools as well as being signed and pawtographed. She will also be marketing a Christmas special for both books at $22 for paperback and $30 for hardcover. All proceeds are donated to the schools where the dogs are trained. So far, she has donated over $1000 in royalties!

Local stores that carry the books for sale:

Chocolate Smiles (Downtown Cary)

A to Z Pharmacy (Cary)

Cocoon Gallery (Apex)

Cocoon Gallery is having a book signing with Margot on December 3rd, 2022 from 10-2.

Contact information and links to purchase Margot Bennett’s books:

Website- https://dogswhohelp.com/

Amazon link for both books- https://www.amazon.com/Margot-Bennett/e/B09LJV26QB/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

Contact information - tailsofdogswhohelp@gmail.com