September is National Service Dog Month, a designation aimed at raising awareness of the work performed by service dogs and the organizations that train them, including Canine Companions.

Canine Companions, founded in 1975, provides service dogs to people with disabilities at no cost, including training and follow-up support.

Marissa Radick, training manager at Canine Companions’ northeast region location in Medford, oversees the organization’s dog trainers and the dogs in professional training. Radick said the dogs are trained to perform specific tasks that help offset a client’s disability. Dogs are matched with recipients through a process that weighs both the dog’s traits and abilities and the applicant’s profile and needs.

Canine Companions operates regional locations across the country and has also made an impact in the Hudson Valley.

For Emily Vincenzo, 22, of Pine Bush, this month marks her first National Service Dog Month with her companion, Negan II, who goes by Negan. Vincenzo said being paired with a service dog has helped her gain independence.

Vincenzo applied at age 16 and waited six years before being invited to Canine Companions’ Long Island facility in March. She and her mother, Janice Vincenzo, traveled from Pine Bush to Long Island, where they spent two weeks in team training with Negan before graduating from the program.

Janice Vincenzo said the organization’s mission has broadened over time. “Emily’s disabilities, in a lot of ways, were hidden,” she said. “I think the organization has come a long way because initially they really worked with people with just mobility issues. Now people want to live on their own or be able to go to work.”

Since being paired with Negan, Emily Vincenzo has moved into her own apartment and said she is more comfortable driving and going out on her own to shop or work.

Negan is trained to retrieve medication, open and close drawers and doors, wake Vincenzo in the morning, and help alleviate her stress responses. Vincenzo said he responds to a range of verbal and physical cues, including ones that redirect anxious behavior.

Radick said Negan’s temperament made him a strong match for Vincenzo. “He wasn’t fearful, and we really felt like he would do best with a client who needed his skills as well as his sweet and loving temperament,” Radick said.

The pairing carries added significance for the Vincenzo family. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Janice Vincenzo raised two puppies for Canine Companions, including one named Birch. Years later, as a teenager, Emily Vincenzo encountered a service dog while at the mall with her mother and asked its owner, Cara, if she could say hello. The dog was Birch.

“Cara uses a wheelchair, and she introduced her dog Birch, and it was the same dog that I knew from years ago — he was still working,” Janice Vincenzo said.

Cara later invited the Vincenzos to a Canine Companions event hosted by the organization’s Hudson Valley chapter, where Emily Vincenzo filled out the application that eventually led to her pairing with Negan. Cara has since become a family friend.

Radick said events such as Dog Fest, the organization’s major annual festival, serve as both fundraisers and public education opportunities. “They’re very fun, unique events where they’re open to the public and other pet dogs that really help us raise money, funds and educate everybody on service dogs,” Radick said. “We’re encouraging people to reach out to their local government to get proclamations for service dogs.”

Two Dog Fest events are scheduled in the region this year: Oct. 10 at 11 a.m. at Marjorie Post Park in Massapequa, and Oct. 3 at 11 a.m. at Reston Town Center Pavilion in Reston, Virginia.

Service dogs typically retire after eight years of work and become eligible for adoption — an option Vincenzo said she is interested in for Negan. The two were matched this past May.

More information on Canine Companions is available at canine.org. Vincenzo and Negan’s journey can be followed on Instagram at @neganthechickpea.