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This is Martha. She was named in honor of Martha McGuirk, a
long time puppy raiser and now also a Breeder Caretaker. Martha was raised by Linda Lady
until she was about six-seven months old. Then she was sent to Oregon to be raised by an
inmate in the Women's Prison there. CCI has a successful program using inmates as puppy
raisers. The puppies spend weekends with other puppy raisers outside of the prison to get
socialized to situations that inmates cannot expose them to such as using public
transportation, taking them to a shopping center, a restaurant, and public events.
This program benefits both CCI and the prison inmates. The presence of the dogs improves
morale, motivates a more cooperative atmosphere, and raises the self-esteem of the inmate
puppy raisers. In addition, the inmates learn skills from training a puppy that they can
apply to other situations such as communication skills, learning techniques, goal setting,
commitment, etc. Martha's inmate puppy raiser was Shelly Webb. She has raised several
puppies and two have graduated already as Assistance Dogs. Shelly wants to work with
dogs and become a professional dog trainer. She already has a job waiting for her when she
gets released from prison. The officer who arrested her also runs a kennel. He was so
impressed with the positive changes she has made that he offered to be her mentor.
Martha graduated in May 1998 as a Service Dog for Phil Curry. He is a program manager for
Apple Computer but he and Martha have been enjoying a sabbatical leave since graduation.
Phil was injured in 1992 in a sky diving accident. He first learned about CCI by meeting
Facility Dog Elwood while he was going through rehabilitation therapy at Santa Clara
Valley Medical Center.
Phil leads an active life. He still sky dives, as well as plays wheelchair rugby, and
enjoys adaptive downhill skiing and sailing. He is a member of the Bay Area Disabled
Sailors, a group that enables disabled persons to enjoy sailing on the Bay. As a puppy,
Martha went sailing with Linda and her husband so she was already comfortable about going
on a sailboat. Linda and Phil are both South Bay Champions so they get to see each other
frequently. Phil and Martha have been active volunteers since graduation at fund raising
events and by doing presentations to both children and organized clubs/groups. Martha is a
great demo dog.
Martha is one of several puppies Linda has raised; two others have graduated as Assistance
Dogs (Unis and Sandee) and one is a Breeder, (Jake). Linda also fosters some dogs on a
short term basis; one was Pearson who was also raised by Shelly Webb. Pearson was later
released from advanced training and now has a permanent home with Linda and her husband.
Besides being a puppy raiser, Linda has also assisted with puppy raiser applicant
interviews, graduate follow-ups and currently assists in the puppy classes in the South
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