355 Harris Ave.
Service dogs provide invaluable support for veterans, children and adults with physical, developmental and behavioral health disabilities, allowing these individuals to live more independent and enriched lives. We look at all aspects of the process of obtaining and training the puppies, certifying the service dogs and placing dogs with clients. We examine what it takes to train a service dog, including matching dogs with trainers, training the clients and training the trainers themselves. We meet a service dog and explore some of the many programs that employ service dogs, such as our veterans’ program and a prison program with inmate trainers.
While most service-dog training facilities specialize in training for a specific disability such as PTSD or hearing, Brigadoon Service Dogs trains service dogs for all disabilities except blindness.
Brigadoon Service Dogs is an award-winning service-dog facility in Bellingham serving the Pacific Northwest that has taken a unique approach to the task of training and providing service dogs to those in need. We learn how this approach was developed, how it operates and how it has evolved into one of the region’s premier service-dog facilities.
Instructor: Denise Costanten
Denise Costanten, who founded Brigadoon in 2004, has been raising and training dogs for more than 40 years. She received The Golden Tennis Shoe Award, presented by U.S. Senator Murray; Volunteer of the Year Award from the Washington State Department of Corrections, presented by Governor Inslee; and Volunteer of the Year Award from The Whatcom County Peace Builders.
