With the help of Keenan Hall’s rector, Noel Terranova, I was able to get the scoop on Notre Dame’s cutest pet, Champion the black lab! Make sure to visit him soon, because he won’t be frolicking Keenan Hall forever. He has a bright future in service ahead of him.
Q: What kind of dog is Champion, and where did you find him?
Champion is Labrador Retriever (black lab). He is a future Leader Dog for the Blind so he came from the Leader Dog Breeding Program. All his brothers and sisters from his litter will also be raised and trained for service as Leader Dogs. My girlfriend Jaclyn is his official trainer registered with Leader Dog for the Blind and I am helping her train him.
Q: Will Champion become a seeing eye dog like Bacon?
Yes, we hope so. Unfortunately Bacon was not placed as a Leader Dog because the Leader Dog for the Blind veterinarians found that he had very slight hip dysplasia. We were heart broken! He would have been such a perfect Leader Dog. Bacon is now a very happy family dog with Jaclyn’s cousin, a lovely family in Massachusetts.
Q: So, what are some ways you train him? When will he graduate?
We work to train him on basic to advanced obedience and some Leader Dog specific protocols. Overall he has to be very used to public places and must remain calm and obedient in any situation. We train him in variety of public places such as restaurants, museums, all around campus, public transportation, concerts, etc. He always has to walk on my left side and always with a loose leash. He has to be able to settle down and stay in position next to me basically anywhere. We raise and train him for about a year, then he goes through four phases of intensive training back at the Leader Dog campus. If he passes all four phases, he can be placed with visually impaired person. That process takes about six months.
Q: Champion is arguably the cutest pet on campus, do you let Keenan residents or other guests take him on walks around campus? Where do I sign up?
Definitely! Champion doesn’t live on campus full time because he mostly lives with my girlfriend, Jaclyn, off campus with his big brother, The Goose (our adopted dog). But guests are always welcome and people who are interested in walking him can set up a time with me.
Q: How does Goose tolerate all these temporary puppies that steal the attention?
The Goose doesn’t need a ton of attention, so he doesn’t mind that, but he is getting a little tired of always having a new puppy up in his business. It took him a while to get used to Champion but now they’re getting along just fine. The Goose even does all of Champion’s training with him because he knows pretty much all of the commands and doesn’t want to miss out on the treats!
Q: What are some Champion’s favorite activities?
Playing with The Goose (who usually tries to ignore him) and other puppy friends. Eating. Training, so he can get more treats as rewards. Hanging out at Fiddler’s Hearth. Running around on Stepan Fields. Eating sunglasses (he already destroyed mine and Jaclyn’s). Crawling around under the bed. NOT sleeping, most puppies love to sleep but he wants to be awake and active 24/7.
Q: Does he know any cool tricks?
We don’t really teach him tricks because he shouldn’t know a lot of extraneous commands outside of his training. But I taught him to sniff out Fireball, so he busts a lot of parties.
Q: Is there anything else you think the general public should know about our favorite puppy?
He loves to sit on my lap in the car (passenger seat) or anytime I’m on the floor. He’s getting really big and I’m not convinced that this is something he intends to grow out of.
Again, a special thanks to Keenan Rector Noel Terranova for making this article possible!
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