Club Spotlight: Collar Scholars

If you have noticed more puppies than usual around Carroll College, there is a reason. 

Collar Scholars is a club on campus that gives students the chance to raise and train puppies that will one day become service dogs for people with disabilities. 

The club works with Canine Companions, a nonprofit organization that provides service dogs to people with disabilities at no cost. Carroll’s Collar Scholars club is the first of its kind in Montana. 

For the students involved, raising a puppy is a big responsibility. The puppies arrive at about eight weeks old and stay with their student raisers for around 18 months. 

During that time, students teach them more than 30 commands and help them learn how to behave in different places and situations. 

After the 18 months are finished, the dogs return to Canine Companions in California for more training before they are matched with a person who needs a service dog. 

Raising a puppy can be fun, but it also takes a lot of time and work. One of the hardest parts for students is having to say goodbye when the puppy leaves. 

“Raising service dogs for Canine Companions has truly changed my life,” said Maria Ackerman, senior health sciences major from Billings. “It is so inspiring to play a role in providing someone with independence. When Verity turned in, I knew I would be sad, but I focused on the impact she’ll make on the world. Now, I’m raising my second puppy, Origami, and I once again feel so blessed for the opportunity to be a part of something so special.”

Collar Scholars has 20 active members, with more than a dozen other students interested in joining. 

Students can take part in different ways. Some raise puppies, some help watch them, and others simply take part in club activities. 

Students from any major can join the club. Some members are also applying to Canine Companions to get a puppy of their own to raise. 

Carroll is a good place for Collar Scholars because students are already used to seeing dogs on campus. Anthrozoology is a big program at Carroll College that teaches students about the connection between people and animals. 

“Living on campus is good for the dogs’ socialization,” said club President Paige McNichols, a senior anthrozoology major from Seattle. “The Carroll community is so friendly to all the dogs and shows so much support towards them.” 

For students in Collar Scholars, the puppies are more than just cute faces around campus. The time students spend training and caring for them helps prepare the dogs to change someone’s life. 

“It’s super rewarding to know the puppies we work so hard to train will go on to help people with disabilities,” said Avery Anderson, a senior anthrozoology major from Kalispell. “We start from square one with them, and over 18 months they become completely different dogs.”

The puppies may not stay at Carroll forever, but the love and training they receive here could help them one day change someone’s life.