Proceeds from children’s book help service-puppy training

It was through a released puppy from the Canine Companions program that gained the attention of husband and wife Patric and Kathleen Rayburn.

“This dog was perfect — put its toys away, obeyed dozens of commands and still didn’t make it through the program. I was fascinated about how a dog that smart and well-tempered couldn’t make it through the program. I learned that I could take a couple of classes and become a puppy sitter,” said Patric.

He explained when the dogs are in that 1½-year train- ing period (first phase) and the puppy raiser is “otherwise engaged,” the pup nee d s to be watched by someone who has the education to continue the training in progress.

“I took a couple of classes, became a puppy sitter and was hooked,” he said. “I love dogs and loved the process

training and seeing what they can do is just miraculous.

“Then an opportunity came up. There was this little puppy named Nutella who was incredibly small, like the size of a cantaloupe and did not have a full time puppy raiser. We took the plunge and dedicated that year and a half to raising her,” Patric added.

The story of Nutella’s (nicknamed Tella) 18-month journey produced a chil

dren’s book, “Purposeful Pup,” written and rhymes in English and Spanish. Patric said it’s a “bit of a love letter to puppy raisers — a dedication to all the hands that help and hold them along the way.”

Puppy raisers are volunteers that commit to a year and a half of service dog training, taking on the financial cost of service dog classes, food, toys and med- ical assistance.

“The book was really just a passion project to tell a story. Part of the mission of the book is to help out with some of the costs that the volunteer puppy raisers incur along the way,” he said.

Last November during Giving Tuesday, proceeds from the book sponsored 10 future service dogs training classes for the month. “It went over so well that I wanted to see if we could sponsor another 10 dogs for a month or one dog for 10 months,” Patric said.

Sponsoring training for one dog grew to instruction for two dogs — both in Sandy Springs — Shep and Tally.

“Puppy raisers give a piece of their heart every time they raise and give a puppy back to the program so it can go on and fulfill its purpose. Ultimately, I think it would be great if puppy raisers didn’t have to give a piece of their budget, even if it’s a small piece, to participate in the program,” he said.

COURTESY Nutella (Tella) was the inspiration and real-life story behind the children’s book “Purposeful Pup,” written by Patric Rayburn, that shares 18 months of Tella’s life in the first phase of training to be a service dog. Proceeds from the book have sponsored training classes for future service dogs.