Ten-year-old Alyssa Zilka spent the better part of her Saturday boning up on her puppy-parenting skills.

Alyssa and her puppy, Wiloa II, joined about 30 other puppy trainers and 19 young canines from the state yesterday at CJW Medical Center (Johnston-Willis) for an annual workshop to help train the dogs -- and their trainers. The workshop covers everything from grooming to reading dogs' body language as part of an effort by Canine Companions for Independence to raise dogs to assist the disabled.

"It's a really great experience because you know you're doing this to help somebody," said Alyssa, who received her puppy eight weeks ago. Wiloa is now 15 weeks old and on her way to becoming a trained companion for a person with a disability.

Alyssa, a fifth-grader at Short Pump Elementary School in Henrico County, decided to become a puppy trainer thanks to her best friend, Kimberly Spiroff, who is partially wheelchair-bound. Kimberly has had a companion dog for two years.

Debbie Zilka, Alyssa's mother and president of Canine Companions' Old Dominion Chapter, said her daughter saw the difference the dog made in Kimberly's life, and her daughter and wanted to be a part of it.

"It breaks the barrier down for these children," she said. "Kimberly used to think of herself as the girl in the wheelchair, now she's the girl with the really cool dog."

Dogs in the program, mostly Labrador/golden retriever mixes, are bred in Santa Rosa, Calif., and given to volunteers when 6 to 8 weeks old to learn to socialize, adapt to different environments and perform basic commands. When they are 18 months old, the dogs head to Long Island, N.Y., for advanced training. There, they work with professional trainers for six to nine months, learning more than 50 commands.

By the end of their training, the dogs are able to open and close doors, retrieve items from the refrigerator, pass credit cards from their master to clerks and even pick up the phone.

Some graduates of the program help children and adults with a variety of disabilities as helpers and companions. Others work in hospitals as therapy dogs.

Canine Companions has trained more than 2,500 dogs since 1978.

Steven Castle, administrator for oncology at the hospital in Chesterfield County, said the dogs' intelligence and devotion have amazed him during the three years he has worked with them. Three dogs from the program visit the hospital several times each week to interact with cancer patients.

The benefits were huge for patients and employees who benefit from the relationships they forge with the dogs, which are normal, lovable pets when their training coats come off, Castle said.

"But you put that coat on, and they become very disciplined -- kind of like putting a tie on a man," he said.

Cindy Morrison of Richmond was at the workshop yesterday with 10-month-old Batchelor, her 11th Canine Companions puppy. She said it is never easy to give back the dogs.

"It breaks your heart every time," she said.

Morrison's last dog, Neiken, went to a 15-year-old girl with cerebral palsy.

"That's what keeps you going," she said. "That's what it's all about."
Contact Wesley P. Hester at (804) 649-6976 or whester@timesdispatch.com.