Morgan McCarthy, a 20-year-old college student with cerebral palsy, was among the 60 people nationwide with disabilities to receive a free pre-trained service dog from Canine Companions for Independence Friday afternoon.
McCarthy is a junior at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Mass. After graduation she will have a new roommate, her service dog Dewey II.
Before landing in McCarthy’s loving and grateful arms, Dewey went through an extensive training program.
Dewey, a golden retriever, went to live at his puppy trainers Florence and John Scarinci's house when he was eight weeks old. The couple trained and socialized him for 18 months before he began advanced training at the Northeastern CCI facility in Medford, N.Y.
During his time with the Scarincis, Dewey was socialized at the library at Nassau County Community College on Long Island, where Florence works. The couple also taught Dewey his first 30 commands.
The rest of Dewey’s commands were learned during advanced training at the Medford CCI facility.
McCarthy met Dewey for the first time two weeks ago at the CCI facility. Experts at CCI pair the people with disabilities with the service dogs based on the compatibility of the dog and human.
She said she knew - or at least hoped - Dewey was going to be hers as soon as they looked into each other's eyes for the first time.
"It was like he looked into my soul," said McCarthy.
As it turned out, McCarthy's instinct was right. She was paired with Dewey the second, who she prefers to call "Dewey the perfect."
Dewey is an energetic, playful dog with a lot of patience for McCarthy. Because of her cerebral palsy, it can take McCarthy extra time to process information, including the command she wants to tell her dog. Dewey diligently waits by her side, helping her to become a more independent young adult.
"Without him [Dewey] I'd be relying on my mom still, and I'm 20 years old," said McCarthy. "And if you look at any other 20-year-old, they're all driving a car, doing their own thing with their friends, and I was never like that just because...it wasn't that I didn't have the opportunity, it was that things are different. Point blank."
At a special brunch before the graduation ceremony, McCarthy and her mother, Prudence, met the puppy raisers who helped train Dewey for her.
Florence told McCarthy to expect a lot of new friends and old acquaintances to approach her more frequently with a great dog like Dewey at her side.
McCarthy was humbled with gratitude the entire day, as this couple was giving her the gift of independence by passing Dewey on to her.
"I'm alone a lot because my mom will go to work, my dad will go to work, all of my siblings are older than me so I'll be in the house doing things and I was alone," explained McCarthy.
"And I think now if I don't have to physically be somewhere like class or some type of doctors appointment I can just be like, 'Hey Dewey, let's snuggle because you're here right now, and I can pet you, or brush you, or brush your teeth, or clip your toenails, or let you play with a toy.' You know what I mean? So I can watch him and interact and take him for walks and do training sessions and things like that. I have a reason to get up every day now and be like, Dewey has to go for a walk."
After the brunch McCarthy attended the Northeast region graduation ceremony, where 11 people with disabilities were given a special service dog from the volunteer puppy raisers who trained them.
McCarthy, like the confident college student she is, gave a tear-jerking speech about finally getting Dewey after a six-year waiting period.
McCarthy said she's still "shell-shocked" that she's actually bringing Dewey to her home in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., after falling in love with him at the CCI facility on Long Island.
"The world is opening up for her even more," said Prudence, McCarthy's mom. "Because she's always worried about safety - people approaching her, or not approaching her, or whatever. So I think this will open a lot of doors for her."
In the fall McCarthy will bring Dewey with her back to college while she finishes her last semester of her undergraduate degree.
