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| Canine Support Teams, Inc. |
| "Changing the way the world thinks about disabilities, one dog at a time" ® |
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Puppy Raiser Spotlight
Michael Geller
Michael has been a resident of Moreno Valley, CA for over 20 years, he is a lawyer specializing in consumer, commercial, business
& real estate law. Michael's favorite breed of dog is The Golden Retriever (his second Retriever, DeNovo turns 10 on April Fools
Day)
Michael has been with CST about 3.5 years, he's attended 3 graduations and is currently raising his fourth dog.
Michael's accounts of raising:
Most Expensive Dog: Toss up.
Chief had a broken toe and complications from that.
Barkley would eat anything he could get. Blackberry, shoes, pool sweep, numerous pool sweep hoses, glasses.
Easiest Dog to Raise: Chief. He was a natural. Top dog in his two training classes by more than a nose.
I got into puppy raising based on a suggestion from my wife. She thought I was pretty good at dog training so she suggested I do
this. She saw some CST dogs in training around Moreno Valley. I contacted them and less than a month later I was the proud
puppy raiser of Chief. There were no classes that CST was offering at the time so Chief went to Petsmart training.
The first CST graduation ceremony we attended we almost missed but plans changed and we went to it at a park in Temecula. It
was the first time we really got a feel for what CST was all about. Until then, I guess we had no idea what they did or how these
dogs really changed people’s lives.
When Mitch was diagnosed with severe hip dysphasia in one leg, we adopted him. Our close friend had a stroke and their previous
dog had recently passed away. We took Mitch over to their house and he immediately adopted them as his own. He only leaves
their house now by being carried.
December’s graduation was our first with one of our dogs. Chief had been working for almost a year. It had been well over a year
since we saw Chief. It was a very happy reunion. His new owner could not thank us enough. Chief has changed her life in ways
we cannot know. When people ask us how we can give up theses dogs with whom we are clearly very close, all I can tell them is
how can we not give them up.
We look forward to Barkley’s graduation.
All of us at CST thank and congratulate Michael on his achievements and dedication as a puppy raiser!
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