Service dogs that become certified Canine Companions were the meeting topic and visitors on Oct. 4 at a meeting of the Central Village Homemakers in Mathews.

Speakers Leslie Neely and Kris White of Canine Companions told the group that a major land donation in the county last year enables the dogs to be trained from the age of eight weeks until they go into service.

Once trained, the dogs serve adults with physical disabilities or deafness, the speakers said. The dogs are trained to help with daily tasks or alert to important sounds. The group partners children with disabilities to service dogs, such as a boy who would occasionally stop breathing in the night, and the dog would alert his parents.

Others who benefit from Canine Companions include veterans with physical disabilities, hearing loss, or post-traumatic stress disorder, the speakers said.

Training begins when the puppies, which are part yellow lab and part golden retriever, are eight weeks old. Volunteers at least 18 years of age are sought to be puppy raisers, the speakers said. As pups they are taken to places for exposure to new experience. At 16 months, the dogs go to professional training at Canine Companions.

For more information on the program or helping with it, contact www.canine.org or info@canine.org. Charlene Winter, a local real estate agent, coordinates puppy raisers in this area; her number is 804-642-6126.