PRINCETON — A litter of seven puppies darted throughout the nursery at NEADS World Class Service Dogs Friday morning. The play area, which is part of NEADS’ training campus, was filled with everything from children’s playhouses, to wheelchairs and even car tires.

“We work on exposing them to different sounds, different objects, different people, different surfaces and also different experiences,” said Kate Albertini, NEADS’ manager of breeding and puppy development. NEADS is a nonprofit organization that trains service dogs for those with disabilities. The organization only works with Labrador Retrievers.

“The reason we work with labs is that they are a really friendly breed, they are approachable,” said Albertini. Later adding, “They are also very easy to work with, food motivated, they are usually happy with whatever person they are placed with and these qualities make them really great candidates for service dog work.”

The latest litter is part of a collaborative with other organizations in the service dog industry. Four puppies will stay with NEADS and the other three will go to Guide Dogs of America in California, United Disabilities Services Foundation’s Service Dogs Program, and Assistance Canine Training Services (ACTS) in New Hampshire.

Once fully “task trained,” NEADS service dogs can perform tasks which include turning light switches on and off, retrieving objects from tables and countertops, and pressing handicap door buttons on public buildings.

NEADS is expanding its organization. About four years ago, it decided to start a breeding center to increase their puppy supply, which largely came from Guiding Eyes for the Blind, a nonprofit service dog training school in Yorktown Heights, New York.

“We realized we needed our own source of dogs if we were to continue to grow our program and match more dogs with people who need them,” explained Zemaitis.

Following a capital campaign to fund the endeavor, Zemanitis said NEADS raised about $2.8 million dollars for the center, which is being built down the road in Sterling.  

Zemaitis added that the breeding center will be up and running by the end of the year, with a ribbon cutting to follow on June 11, 2022.

An eight-week-old black lab plays in NEADS World Class Service Dogs’ nursery.