Imagine someone gave you an adorable puppy and you fall in love. You walk it, feed it, teach it how to behave and take it with you wherever you go.

Now imagine someone takes that dog away. You'd be devastated, right?Now imagine you knew all along that you would love that puppy and then have to say goodbye.That's exactly what happened to Natalie Martino of Saylorsburg."My family and I had always loved dogs," says Natalie, "and I was looking for a community service project to do for my school."Natalie was a junior at Pius X High School in 2014. She was required to do a service project of 20 hours her junior year and 25 hours during her senior year.Her mother, Linette, told Natalie about Canine Companions for Independence. Linette was doing a clinical rotation at a nursing and rehabilitation center, and one of the employees there was training a puppy for the organization at the time."I thought that it would be a great project to undertake, but I knew I couldn't do it alone, so I had to talk to my family about it, since I knew they would have needed to help me."Natalie said it wasn't an easy decision."Who wants to love a beautiful dog for a year and a half, have them become a part of the family, and then have to give them back?" she asks. "That part was the hardest to accept, but my family and I knew that it would be for a great reason and that (the dog) would eventually make someone else's life better."In October of 2014, Natalie and her family welcomed 8-week-old Leonardo, a mixed breed who is half golden retriever and half Labrador retriever.Natalie's primary responsibility was to get Leonardo used to being around people so that he would become comfortable in a variety of situations and environments."We had to go to a puppy class with other CCI puppy raisers at least twice a month," says Natalie. "We taught him about 20 basic commands, such as sit, stay, paw, etc. Our main job as puppy raisers was to socialize the dog. We had to take him out to the mall, movies, anywhere we would go, so he could be exposed to these situations before he went to his lifelong person."While that constant interaction is necessary for successful socialization, it makes saying goodbye that much harder."It's a unique experience, as we get even more attached to these pups because they do go everywhere with us," says Linette. "It's kind of like having a well-behaved (for the most part) toddler with you all the time. We are responsible for teaching them how to behave in public. And as with taking a toddler, sometimes there are moments that can be difficult, but for the most part, those moments are rare."Natalie says one of the best things she experienced while raising Leo was all the new people she met who also train dogs for CCI."Now it's like we have another family," she says.The easiest part was falling in love with Leo. The most difficult part? Having to give him up."Knowing that he would change (his new owner's) life for the better though, did help ease the heartbreak," says Natalie."Leo's training with us ended in February 2016 when we went to Long Island, where the CCI Northeast Headquarters is and where Leo started his more extensive puppy training until he made it into the Hearing Dog Program, which is in California."Leo's official graduation took place on Oct. 14 in California. While her mother and father, David, where able to make the trip and hand Leo's leash over to his new owner, Patricia Parker of Fresno, California, Natalie, couldn't get away from school. Now 19, she's a student at Penn State University, where she is a communication sciences and disorders major."Overall, I would have to say this experience was truly amazing," says Natalie, "and I'm glad that my family and I are doing it again with our second CCI dog, Dutton."Canine Companions for Independence provides service dogs free of charge to men, women, veterans and children with disabilities. For more information, visit

http://www.cci.org.