A service dog trainee stands at attention at EVO Gymnastics. Provided photo.

The training at Sarasota’s EVO Gymnastics is constant. The facility is home to some of the top gymnasts in the world, from Olympic medalists like Brody Malone and Stephen Nedoroscik to world champions such as Donnell Whittenburg and aspiring elite-level junior athletes. On Tuesday, December 9, however the facility welcomed a different group of trainees: puppies from Dogs Inc, the Palmetto-based non-profit specializing in training and raising elite working dogs, including guide, service and therapy dogs at no cost to the recipients.

The dogs, Labrador Retrievers all around six months old, were not only a welcome respite from the intense training of the men’s elite and junior elite teams at EVO, but recipients of a particular kind of training themselves. A crucial part of being a guide or service dog is having the ability to adapt to the outside world—unfamiliar sights, sounds or stimuli cannot distract the dog from performing its duty.

“This is a unique socialization opportunity for our dogs,” says Jenni Scamardo, a puppy raising advisor with Dogs Inc. “There are different sights and sounds, different textures on the floor here, which is all a valuable experience for these guys to prepare for their future careers beyond us. This socialization also correlates to the real world, where they’ll hear similar noises to these and it helps them learn how to continue to build confidence and resiliency.”

Scamardo, who was handling Oatmeal, a six-month old ball of wiggly energy and affability, was analyzing the dog’s ability to acclimate to what is initially an overstimulating environment. “We’re looking for how quickly does the dog recover and feel confident in an unfamiliar environment, so that we can generalize that to anywhere that we are. With Oatmeal, we’re working on having duration in lower key environments and then progressing to medium and higher traffic environments,” says Scamardo. “When the gymnasts started doing their routines and the floor began to shake, she was like that’s different, and quickly realized that it was okay. Now she hears slamming and feels the shaking all around the gym and doesn’t have any concern with it, which is very positive to see from her.”

The draw for athletes to come to EVO is simple: if you want to be the best, you have to train with the best. Preparing to be a world champion or make the next national team is an intense process, not just physically, but mentally as well. “I’m looking at the full preparation of our athletes, which is the emotional and mental component of their performance,” says Syque Cesar, Head Coach of the Men’s Senior Elite team at EVO. “Everybody is incredibly focused here and stress levels are high—with the puppies here, you’ll see more smiles than you would on a typical day, which is good for me.”

A service dog trainee stands at attention at EVO Gymnastics. Provided photo.

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