Full-time trainer

Rachel Denton balances studies and service dogs

Faith without action is dead. And for Rachel Denton, putting her faith into action looks like training service dogs.

“I’m very much a doer,” Denton said. “I don’t just think that you should say, ‘Oh, this needs to be changed,’ or ‘We should do this.’ I really feel like you should get your hands dirty, and if you see a problem, fix it.”

Trick — Denton shakes Rollins paw. Photo credit: Michela Diddle

Trick — Denton shakes Rollins paw. Photo credit: Michela Diddle

Originally from Orlando, Florida, Denton is a senior majoring in human services. An animal-lover from a young age, Denton trained her 8-year-old black Labrador retriever to be a therapy dog when she was in high school, and the two began visiting hospitals and nursing homes on the weekends. She also regularly volunteered with children with special needs at her local church.

“In high school, I really learned to love people with special needs,” Denton said. “And I worked with children with autism a lot in high school, so I sort of combined my love of training (dogs) with people with special needs.”

In the fall of 2012, Denton began her freshman year at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, and soon began training service dogs with her aunt for New Horizons Service Dogs, a nonprofit organization seeking to help people with mobility impairments. Denton trained two puppies that year, for four months each. Denton trained her puppies Friday through Monday, and her aunt trained the same puppies Tuesday through Thursday. At the end of the training period, the puppies became a part of New Horizons’ “Prison Pups” program, where they received further training from inmates for nine months to a year.

“That’s a really awesome program because it helps rehabilitate the prisoners, while also getting the dogs one-on-one, intense training,” Denton said.

On the last day of her freshman year of college, in the spring of 2013, Denton received an 8-week-old puppy, Sequoia, to train for a year.

“I just love that puppies are like sponges,” Denton said. “You start out with this blank slate. And I just really like to watch the process of them gaining confidence and learning the tasks. And I thought that I would get sick of it after a while, because it’s the same thing every time, but every single time it’s exciting, because they all have different strengths and weaknesses.

“And I like learning what makes things click for them. I just love training. It’s so much fun.”

Denton continued training service dogs through her sophomore year at Rollins, and said that after spending two years at the college, she felt the need to transfer to another school. Her younger sister was soon to begin her freshman year at Liberty University, and Denton said she decided to tag along. So, in the fall of 2014, Denton and her newest service dog, Revere, became members of the Liberty community.

“I was craving so badly to have the Christian atmosphere, and to be surrounded by people that were like-minded,” Denton said. “I just absolutely love Liberty. It’s the best school I could have ever come up with. … Even though it’s a huge school, I just love that it’s so tight knit and that you can find a group to really fit in with. And there’s always something to do here.”

This year, Denton can be seen on campus with her 7-month-old golden retriever puppy, Rollins. Because service dogs have to learn to adapt to various social situations, the two frequent restaurants, malls and movie theaters. Rollins also accompanies Denton to classes and Convocation, and rides the bus with Denton to and from school every day.

puppy LOVE  — Rachel Denton and Rollins. Photo credit: Michela Diddle

Puppy LOVE — Rachel Denton and Rollins. Photo credit: Michela Diddle

“The best compliment for a service dog handler is when you get up from a restaurant or anything, and (someone says), ‘Oh, I didn’t even know there was a dog here,’” Denton said. “So
that’s my goal.”

According to Denton, training a service dog is not easy. It is an endeavor that requires a significant investment of time and money, as well as patience. Denton spends about 30 minutes to an hour every day just working on specific tasks with Rollins, such as teaching him to open doors. She also has to teach Rollins how to behave around different types of people.

“I hate breaking people’s hearts all day long, when they ask to pet him and they can’t,” Rollins said. “He has to learn to focus on me, and if he tries to pull over to say hi to people, it could hurt his person. … Talk to the person first. A lot of people have the desire to walk up and just start talking to the dog and forget that there’s a person attached to that dog, so just speak to the person and get to know the person first. … Be a friend. Don’t just stare. Go over there and strike up a conversation, and treat them like you would treat anybody else.”

For Denton, the most difficult part of raising a service dogs is having to give them up after spending more than a year with them. Even though Denton has raised four other service dogs, she said that saying goodbye never gets any easier, but knowing that another person’s quality of life will be improved makes the separation worth it.

“When I get to see my dogs go to their person, their forever person, it’s an honor for me to be a part of that because I know how much of a difference a dog makes in that person’s life,” Denton said. “So, I’m OK with crying. Every single time that I turn them in, the day before I’m looking at the dog and (I’m) like, ‘Why do I do this?’ But then I get the puppy the next day, and I’m like, ‘This is why I do this.’ … When they get their person, the joy that you have is just unimaginable and great.”

Denton said that people with disabilities sometimes have to wait two or more years to receive a service dog, because the demand is so high. She emphasized the need for more trainers, and recommended Saint Francis Service Dogs of Roanoke, Virginia, for those interested in getting involved locally.

Looking to the future, Denton — who graduates next December — said she hopes to make a career of training service dogs.

“Dog trainers don’t make a lot of money, but this is my passion, and so I’m willing to make a lot of other sacrifices to be able to continue doing this,” Denton said.

Ultimately, Denton trains service dogs because she loves people.

“I want people with disabilities to be able to experience life the same way we do as much as possible,” Denton said. “And so, training a service dog for somebody that can provide them with that independence. Just simple things that we take for granted, (like) dropping your keys and you need someone to come pick that up for you or opening a door. If I can train a dog to be able to allow (someone) to be a little more independent, I think that that is a great way to show God’s love to other people. … I just want to be able to do something that outlasts me.

That when people think of me, they can see that I made a difference in the community, even if it’s just a small little thing.”

To learn more about Denton and Rollins, follow Denton on Instagram: @Raising_Liberty.


Graf is a feature reporter.

One comment

  • I was given a service dog 3 years ago. The only problem I have is that he is too friendly. When someone comes to the door, it’s all I can do to hold him back. Any suggestions? Tina

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