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    College life comes with a myriad of responsibilities: studying, writing papers, taking exams, maybe even working a part-time job. But for Valarie Franklin, it also includes another important task ­ remembering to feed her roommate.
    That's because her roomie is Sunny, a four-year-old Golden Retriever "Service Dog," who is Franklin's key to an independent life. Last fall, Sunny was selected as one of two national runners-up for Assistance Dog of the Year in the "Salute to Assistance Dogs" contest, sponsored by Eukanuba Dog Food and the Iams Company.

Sunny in Florida

    As the Pre-Pharmacy freshman pulls her motorized wheelchair expertly up to a table in front of the Rankin Student Center's coffee shop, Sunny immediately makes himself at home by lying down on the common's tile floor.
   

Valarie and Sunny make their way across the Ferris campus shortly after the Davison, Mich., native's golden retriever was "Asistance Dog of the Year."

Rescued from a Florida animal shelter, Sunny was raised by volunteer 'foster parents' for Paws With A Cause® (PAWS), a non-profit organization that trains assistance dogs for people with disabilities. After receiving basic obedience training from his foster family, Sunny traveled to the Wayland, Michigan-based organization. From there, Sunny's calm disposition got him matched up with Franklin, who has Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or Brittle Bone Disease.
    "People with OI don't have a form of collagen, so they have weaker bones and shorter stature, depending on how severe it is," explains Franklin. "Sunny is a very gentle dog and very eager to please. Most golden retrievers are. It's worked out really well."
    Sunny's presence allows Franklin to enjoy college and live on her own, a relationship that began before the Davison, Mich., native started at Ferris.
    "When I was in high school, my parents worried about me staying home by myself," Franklin says. "If I fell, I might not be able to get up or get to the phone to call for help."
    It was then that Franklin contacted PAWS, which was founded in 1979 by Mike and Candye Sapp after a friend asked Mike to help train his cairn terrier as a hearing dog. From there the organization, originally named "Ears For The Deaf," began matching hundreds of people with disabilities with assistance dogs who could help them.

Learning to Serve

    A cat wandering the halls is not the first thing a visitor to Paws With A Cause's National Headquarters and Training Facility expects to see. According to Deb Davis, development coordinator at PAWS, even the cats further their mission of training service dogs, hearing dogs and seizure response dogs.
    "We call them our Canine Enforcement Officers," Davis explains. "You'll see our dogs walk right past them. The dogs have to be taught to ignore cats as much as possible. Not only just cats in the home, but we can't have dogs darting off after squirrels. Of course, we don't have a trained squirrel!"
    The training staff at PAWS takes dogs out in public areas four days a week. They go everywhere from Monroe Mall in downtown Grand Rapids, to suburban Woodland Mall, to various restaurants. "They take elevators, even ride on carousels," Davis says. "We try to integrate as many activities as possible, including exposure to cats."
    In addition to public outings, the Wayland headquarters has a large training facility where assistance dogs-in-training learn to open power-assisted doors by pressing a wall button, as well as open both standard wooden doors and heavier industrial-grade doors by pulling on tethers attached to their knobs or handles. There is also a free-standing training stairway, a row of power wheelchairs and a model retail counter.
    It's almost easier to explain what the dogs are not trained for, rather than what they are. Davis says that people often think that PAWS trains guide dogs for the blind, but that's not part of their mission.
    "You have guide dog agencies that have been out there for 75 to 100 years," Davis explains. "That's one of the things we find everyday, people who say, 'Oh, you train guide dogs.' No, we don't. There are already people who do that. If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
    As for Franklin and Sunny, Davis thinks they are an especially good match.
    "Matching up dogs to clients is one of the hardest things here," she explains. "When Sunny was placed with Valarie, she was still in high school, so it was a faster, busier lifestyle than a senior citizen who's having a balance problem. PAWS is unique in the assistance dog industry in that we custom train all of our assistance dogs, so the matching process is a delicate one."
   

Valarie Franklin and her assistance dog Sunny spend a few minutes in between classes at the Rankin Center.

With all the training that the dogs receive, it can be the public that still needs some education in the etiquette of interacting with these very specialized canines.
    "What's the first thing you should do when you meet someone with an assistance dog? Ask that person if you can pet the dog. Don't just assume," Davis says. "Because that dog is not really a dog at that point, it's a tool, a partner. The other thing that the dog does is open up a lot of doors ­ and not only literally, but figuratively as well, because people no longer see the wheelchair, they see the dog."

With a Little Help

    Franklin calls Sunny's arrival, "a life-changing experience." She agrees with Davis that the first thing people often notice is Sunny and not her disability. "I like how the attention is now on him instead of me," she says.
    The two have definitely settled in to life at Ferris. Franklin is in the Honors program and living in one of the residence halls dedicated to Honors students. "I'm having the time of my life here," she says.
    Sunny's not doing too badly, either.
    "Back in Davison I couldn't really ever let people pet him, because whenever he was out of the house he was on duty," Franklin explains. "But here, when we're back to the room, the pack comes off, and anyone who's around plays with him. They throw him tennis balls down the hall. He can't be off-leash outside, so we play inside, and he has tons of friends. He'll just walk around and visit people. It's pretty fun."
    When they're done at the coffee shop, Franklin and Sunny head down the halls of the Rankin Student Center on their way to the Arts and Sciences building. When they get to the power-assisted doors leading outside, Sunny jumps up and hits the wall-plate with his front paws.
    As they move quickly across the campus quad, Franklin notes that in addition to his many specialty skills, Sunny also has a repertoire of the usual canine tricks.
    "He can do basic obedience commands: sit, lie down, come, stay, shake hands. He can sometimes kind of roll over-if you help him! We're working on that."
    But with Sunny's main job being to help Franklin earn her degree, rolling over is one part of his skill-set he may have to wait a while to master.