Who is Turner?
Turner is our 6 1/2 year old yellow Labrador retriever, who is currently my online obedience class demonstration video assistant/accomplice, a nursing home therapy dog, canine blood donor and beloved family pet. Turner was born into the Canine Companions for Independence assistance dog program in 2013, and we had the privilege of being his volunteer puppy raisers for 16 months. Turner spent 5 months in professional training at the Canine Companions North Central Regional Training Center before he was released back to us due to recurrent allergy and dermatological issues. Because of Turner's training with us and the professional trainers at Canine Companions, he knows over 40 commands and is able to pick up dropped items, open and close doors and drawers, and turn on and off lights, in addition to all the basic (and not so basic) obedience commands he knows. When not "working", Turner is content to sleep (a lot), fetch his frisbee and clean up whatever crumb trails are left behind by our 3 young children. Here is a link to a video demonstrating a few of Turner's skills (circa 2015).