Puppy Love: SIT Service Dogs surprises community with Valentine’s Day animal grams

Kristen Dietz, a commercial loan officer from Desoto, reacts while feeding “Piggy Smalls” on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020, at SIU Credit Union in Carbondale, Ill. Dietz’s husband purchased a piggy-gram from the SIT Service Dog group to surprise her for Valentine’s Day. “He’s really good with surprises — just very out of the box,” Dietz said. “I never thought in a million years a pig would come through.”

CARBONDALE — Kristen Dietz, a commercial loan offer at SIU Credit Union, knows her husband Tyler is particularly good with surprises but “never in a million years thought” a squealing piglet would come through the doors of her office to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Coworkers gathered in Dietz’s office as Daniel Bradley, SIT Service Dogs client services manager, donned in a Kermit the Frog mask, held “Piggy Smalls,” a therapy piglet who was rescued from a hoarding situation by him and his wife.

Keesha Lo, of Herrin, reacts as Tony, a 7-month old Labrador Retriever, licks her face on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020, at Tonic Hair Salon in Carbondale, Ill. The SIT Service Dogs organization has delivered puppy-grams to southern Illinois residents while raising money to keep service dog costs down for patients.

This is the second year SIT Service Dogs, an Ava-based business that specializes in breeding and training service dogs has fundraised through their “piggy-grams” and “puppy-grams.”

Money raised from the fundraiser will go reducing the costs of service dogs for patients, according to Bradley. He said costs to raise and train a single dog can be upwards of $30,000 and part of the business’s goal is to make service dogs accessible to those who need them.

Military veterans are a commonly talked about group who benefit from having a service-animal companion and conversation has gained traction up to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The House passed HR 4305, or the “Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act,” earlier this month. The bill, introduced by Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), sets up a pilot program that allows the Department of Veterans Affairs to assess the effectiveness of using service dogs for the treatment of PTSD and mental health issues for veterans with disabilities.

Bradley said he hopes to see similar legislation passed for individuals with other disabilities who would greatly benefit from a service dog in their lives.

Lex Dietz, SIT Service Dogs program director, shared similar sentiments to Bradley.

“There isn’t as much awareness on how much a service dog can change people’s lives who have neurological conditions such as autism and brain injuries,” Dietz said. “Funding can be a bit harder on that end of things.”

SIT Service Dogs will deliver over 50 animal-grams across southern Illinois over the Valentine’s Day week, according to Dietz.

Dietz said this fundraiser is a highlight each year and is fun for both the trainers and the recipients while helping the dog’s formal training efforts through public exposure.

“There are a lot of animal lovers out there and they just glow when their delivery shows up,” Dietz said.

Keesha Lo, of Herrin, holds out her hand to attempt feeding “Piggy Smalls” a carrot on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020, in Carbondale, Ill. Lo received a piggy-gram from her husband William for Valentines Day. The SIT Service Dogs, the organization delivering the “grams” hopes to improve the lives of people with disabilities due to progressive and chronic diseases and trauma.

Dietz and Bradley are self-proclaimed region-transplants but the southern Illinois community has been “the best place for a service dog program.” Dietz said she’s amazed by the support behind the program for the last decade.

Community events and fundraisers are a highlight for Dietz but she said her favorite thing about the program comes on the dog’s graduation day after 2 years of training.

“There’s this moment — every student and staff member has seen it — where people have been working with their dogs over the week and there’s a click,” Dietz said. “It is a fantastic second where the dog realizes this is the person I’m doing this for and the person realizes this dog is going to make my life totally different.”

“That’s as close to magic as I’ve ever seen,” she said.

This story was published in The Southern Illinoisan on Feb. 13, 2020.