Carrboro-based non-profit Eyes Ears Nose and Paws trains service dogs to place with families who need them.
The organization began in 2008 to make assistance dogs more available to local resident.
But while these dogs certainly provide an invaluable service to their owners, they also develop an invaluable bond with both those who train them and the families who benefit from them.
"As soon as I brought Little B out on stage he went right for her and that was the loveliest thing," volunteer trainer Gretchen Aylsworth said. "He wanted to be with her, and so it's a little hard and I'll miss him very much."
After working with Little B for more than a year, Aylsworth is sad to see him go, but she's also proud of the dog Little B has become.
Lynn Ikenberry faces a similar situation with Ansel, who will use his keen sense of smell to monitor his new master's blood sugar levels as a diabetic assistance dog.
"If my blood sugar goes down, he'll walk up to me and punch me," Randy McGarity, Ansel's new master, explained. "If I'm in desperate need and unconscious and there is someone in the next room, he may go to the next room and get somebody to come back and give me a hand."
After a two week bonding session, McGarity had to pass a test in order to receive his new companion. He passed with flying colors; and now it is time for Ikenberry to part with the dog he has worked with for more than a year and a half.
"Just like it's your dog, [except] you just know that they'll be a limit to it -- a time that it will end," Ikenberry said.
Eyes Ears Nose and Paws remains the only assistance dog organization in the Triangle area.
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