Puppy love takes over Tulane

Their faces are irresistible, but the dogs living at Tulane University are here to work.

This academic year, the uptown campus was home to five puppies that were assigned to volunteer student puppy raisers in hopes they would one day be assistance dogs to people with disabilities.

TUSTEP, or Tulane University Service-Dog Training and Education Program, partners with Canine Companions for Independence to have students raise the puppies until they are about 18 months old.

Among the dogs at Tulane are siblings Ava and Archer.

“Archer is a big ham,” said his puppy raiser, Darian Hummel.

The students are responsible for teaching them not only good manners, but also a series of commands that will someday be their hallmark as service dogs. The dogs go almost everywhere with the students, including to class, to the library and to work.

“Ava is probably one of the most energetic dogs on campus,” said her puppy raiser, Leslie Howton. “She loves to play, loves to have fun. She thinks everyone is her best friend.”

The group recently said goodbye to Kipper, the first dog to be trained on the Tulane University uptown campus. His puppy raiser, TUSTEP founder Adam Kline, took him to Orlando, Florida, earlier this month, where Kipper will receive advanced training.

Four new dogs have arrived on campus and their training has just begun. We meet three dogs and their student handlers in this video.

For more on the TUSTEP dogs and their puppy raisers, click here.