ARLINGTON, Va. — The Washington Capitals had a ball Wednesday while taking on the serious business of hosting a special puppy class for future guide dogs.
The team co-hosted the training exercise at their practice facility in Arlington and all of the humans present were volunteers.
The team worked with the puppies to expose them to the world's sights, sounds and smells while focusing on obedience and loose-leash walking. When the dogs are older, certified trainers will take over.
The Guide Dog Foundation told WUSA9 that it's in urgent need of volunteer puppy handlers to care for the foundation's puppies from when they're 8 weeks old until about 14 to 18 months. Interested volunteers can find more information by clicking here.
It's not the first time the Washington Capitals have gotten experience with guide dog training.
At last year's training camp for the Caps, there were several new faces spotted at the rink, but none were greeted with as much enthusiasm as Biscuit, who was 9 weeks old at the time. The chocolate lab made its debut as the Caps' newest service dog in training on Sept. 22, in partnership with America's VetDogs program.
Meet Biscuit, the Caps' new service dog
Biscuit went on to complete his "puppy training" in D.C. before heading to America's VetDogs campus in New York to complete formal service dog training.