LEBEC, Calif. (KERO) — Cornerstone Companions is a 501c3 nonprofit that trains specially skilled assistance dogs to those in need.
- Helping people and helping animals.
- An animal enthusiast in Lebec turns her passion into a non-profit.
- Cornerstone Companions is looking for volunteers to help keep the ranch running.
- Morano invites people of all abilities to reach out through their website.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
As a kid, Britany Morano knew she had a special bond with animals. Now, she creates those connections for others.
Cornerstone Companions, a local non profit, connects people of all abilities with a furry friend.
“My dad would often tell me, ‘You’d be great working with animals or outdoors,’” said Morano, founder of Cornerstone Companions, who did just that– starting off trick training dogs for movies.
But she wanted to reach a different audience.
“A lot of times people with disabilities face hardships on a daily basis that make it really difficult for them to obtain just regular everyday needs and be able to go to doctors appointments and medications and things like that that makes it pretty much impossible to obtain a service dog,” said Morano.
Cornerstone Companions is a 501c3 that trains specially skilled assistance dogs to those in need.
Morano has a breeding program for yellow labs.
At eight weeks, Morano said the pups go to a puppy raiser, who not only showers them with love, but also exposes them to different environments, sounds, and smells.
At about 10-12 months, the dogs come back to the ranch for final task training and placement.
“You can’t just take any dog and any person and put them together,” said Morano. “You really have to kind of understand the types of behavior and personality of both the dog and the person.”
Through years of training and running the nonprofit, Morano said she’s seen many lives change. But one of them especially stood out.
“A young lady who was self harming and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to live anymore. And her mom reached out to me and we trained a dog for her,” said Morano. “She’s just graduated from high school. She’s thriving. She’s going to college. They text me and tell me that they’re so grateful for the dog and for the experience.”
In August, Morano picked up three mini horses– Whalen, Willie, and Cash.
“We’ve been rescuing animals, specifically horses from slaughter,” said Morano.
On top of their service dog training services, Cornerstone Companions wants to start a therapeutic riding program in the near future, creating positive social interactions both for the horses and people.
“Horses have a really large electromagnetic field around their heart,” said Morano. “A lot of times people don’t realize it, but when they’re around horses, they feel happy, they feel less anxiety.”
Morano invites people of all abilities to reach out.
“We just wanna let the community know that we’re here for them,” said Morano.
Cornerstone Companions is looking for volunteers to help keep the ranch running. She invites people of all abilities to reach out through their website.
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