When she was four years old, Michelle Koopman landed in the hospital with a rare disorder that prevented her bone marrow from generating new blood. Surrounded by strange contraptions that beeped and whirred, she was scared and often felt intimidated and alone. But when a yellow Labrador retriever named Millie began paying her daily visits, the emptiness was at least temporarily filled.
“There were some days that Millie was the only reason I’d want to get out of bed or smile for the day,” Koopman remembered.
Millie was provided by Canine Companions, a Santa Rosa-based organization that trains service dogs to provide everything from care to comfort.
Millie would jump up on Koopman’s bed, and sometimes Koopman would read to her, or simply fall asleep with her furry pal nestled next to her. Her mother, Suzanne Koopman, recalled visiting the hospital on the day of Michelle’s fifth birthday.
“She wasn’t feeling well,” Suzanne Koopman said. “She wouldn’t even look at my husband and I — and Millie came into the room.”
“Millie came in that room, and I lit up,” Michelle said, filling in the story, “And it was like the best thing I’ve ever seen.”
Koopman spent the better part of a year in the hospital, bonding daily with Millie — on the road to recovery. They reunited a decade later. Even after Millie died, Koopman remained close to Millie’s trainer.
“Millie really changed my life during a difficult time,” Koopman said.
It’s a scenario that’s played out thousands of times for Canine Companions, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year. The national organization started in Santa Rosa with a gift from the city’s most famous son, Peanuts creator Charles Schulz, who, along with his wife Jean, donated the land in which the sprawling dog training compound now sits. The organization now has seven training centers across the country and relies on donations and events to provide dogs to clients free of charge.
“In the past fifty years, we’ve placed more than eight thousand clients with service dogs or facility dogs,” said executive director Kristen Dambrowski. “These dogs can have a huge impact on many people every day and every year.”
The dogs, who start out training as puppies, learn more than forty tasks, from opening doors to closing drawers, turning on lights, picking up dropped items, and providing companionship. They’re employed to bring comfort to military veteran’s experiencing PTSD, helping the disabled and seniors navigate their homes — and as in Koopman’s case — bringing solace to children in hospitals or fighting illness.
“There’s so many stories that are touching and meaningful and life-saving,” Dambrowski said.
Across the massive, sprawling training center, decorated with the occasional Snoopy statue in tribute to Schulz, it’s a common sight to see trainers walking dogs. Bronze sculptures of several dogs straddled the channel of a long courtyard fountain. Inside the group’s sleek new behavioral center, a scrum of puppies climbed over one another, chasing down a ball. In addition to its regular staff, the organization relies on volunteers to take home puppies to begin the first steps of their training.
It’s how Michelle Koopman, inspired by her childhood experience with Millie, circled back to the organization that had once helped her when she was hospitalized. After graduating college with a degree in biology, she began volunteering with Canine Companions as a puppy trainer and ended up getting hired as a full-time service dog trainer. Her mother, Suzanne, also volunteers as a puppy trainer.
“It feels nice to give back to something that gave so much when I was in the hospital,” Michelle said.
Koopman demonstrated her work by putting a Labrador named Frittata through her paces. The dog picked up a dropped TV remote and a spatula, closed a drawer using her nose, leaped up to turn on a light switch, and once again used her nose to trigger the automatic front door opener.
Koopman reflected on the unconditional love she experienced from Millie as a kid in the hospital, which inspired her to train dogs that have gone on to aid hundreds of others.
“The support that they give somebody is truly amazing,” she said, looking down at Frittata. “It really does change a lot of lives.”
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