Happy Birthday Penguin! Pittsburgh Today Live's First Pup Turns 2-Years-Old
By: KDKA-TV Digital Content Producer Heather Lang
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Penguin is growing up!
Pittsburgh Today Live's very first service pup-in-training, Penguin, celebrated his second birthday this past week.
Here are a few pictures of him celebrating his big day.
Of course, Penguin remains at Canine Companions' facility in Ohio, where he is learning advanced skills to become a service dog for someone who has a disability.
Penguin's puppy raiser, Jack Sabo, gave us an update last month on what kind of things Penguin is learning now.
"He's brushing up on those 30 commands we taught him while he was with us, and he's also expanded his knowledge to learn 30 more specific word commands – picking up dropped items, working to pull wheelchairs, learning how to tug doors open and closed," Jack said.
"The program is designed to expertly train service dogs with children, adults and veterans with disabilities. What they'll do is give them a little more independence, so they can do things on their own," Jill, Jack's mom, said.
Penguin's older sister, Coral, has already graduated and become a full service dog for a young man who uses a wheelchair.
Meanwhile, Penguin's little brother, Pickles, is getting to know the Sabo family as they begin the process of training him as they did with Penguin and Coral.
You can follow Pickles' journey on his Facebook page -- KDKApup. And, look for training updates on both Penguin and Pickles every week on Pittsburgh Today Live, which airs at 9 a.m. on KDKA and the 2 p.m. rerun on Pittsburgh's CW.
