Canine Companions and Collar Scholars Raise Service Dog

Students eat lunch with Paddy. (Sam Simpkins)

There’s a new canine on campus. 

Graduate student Morgen Wilkes is raising a puppy named Paddy for the Canine Companions Organization, a nonprofit that provides service dogs to those in need—free of charge. 

Paddy sits in class with Wilkes and is a source of stress relief for her classmates.  

“He brings a lot of joy to students, and he really just brightens up a room anywhere he is,” said Wilkes. 

Raising a puppy takes a lot of work and a lot of money. Luckily, Wilkes and Paddy are supported by the Collar Scholars, a student organization on Belmont’s campus dedicated to raising awareness of the need for service dogs. 

“So far, with the fundraising we've done, we've been able to completely offset all of that cost to Morgan,” said Dr. Christi Williams, physical therapy professor and faculty adviser for the Collar Scholars. 

Just like the Collar Scholars aim to offset the cost of raising a puppy, the Canine Companions aim to offset the cost of having a service dog. 

“The goal of the whole organization is to help raise service dogs at a low cost,” said Priyanka Sujan, president of the Collar Scholars. “It is a relatively low-commitment way for students to get involved in something that makes a tangible difference in someone's life.” 

While some Collar Scholars may volunteer to raise puppies like Wilkes, most just participate in fundraising and dog-sitting. 

Sujan and Williams are working to educate students about the Collar Scholars and to recruit new puppy raisers. 

Paddy’s training currently consists of learning basic commands, learning to interact with different people and to focus on his handler. In August, he’ll transition to professional service dog training in Orlando.  

After training, the Canine Companions Organization will pair him with someone who needs a service dog. 

“The overarching goal is to help the disabled individual live a life of independence,” said Williams. 

With this goal in mind, Wilkes is proud of her work. 

“It has just been so fulfilling… to go after my lifelong passion of helping others. And it's been a really sweet way to give my time to something that I know will completely change someone's life,” said Wilkes. 

This article was written by Olivia Abernathy