This Kennewick teen spent years raising a dog to help someone else

When Carson Williams hands over the leash of Chili on Sunday, it will be the end of a three-year journey for the Kennewick teen.

It took a year and a half of work before the Kennewick High junior could even start training Chili. Then for the last year and a half, he has spent every day working with him.

Now Chili is headed to the final part of his training, before the black Labrador Retriever spends the next two to eight years helping someone who can’t see.

“I know that I am going to miss him, but I know that he is going to be a great dog for some other owner that’s going to love him and care for him,” Williams said.

Williams was able to bring Chili to a Kennewick High agriculture class for a Friday presentation on his 17 months of work with the dog.

Guide Dogs for the Blind started in 1942 and is the largest guide dog school in North America. There are more than 16,000 guide dog teams across the U.S. and Canada.

He became involved with the Kennewick chapter of the program when he was in eighth grade. He always loved animals and while his family had dogs, he never had a chance to raise a puppy.

His mother, who is a teacher, heard about the program from Dan White, a Kennewick teacher and FFA advisor. Her sister had raised her own guide dog, so she was familiar with the program.

“We were like, ‘Oh. That might be fun. Let’s get into it,” he said. “So my eighth-grade summer, I got out of Kennewick wrestling and my mom was like, ‘You want to go?’ and I was like, ‘Do we have to?’ And now I realize that was one of the best decisions I have ever made.”

Training Chili

Before Williams could start training dogs, he had to attend four months of guide dog meetings, then he needed to read a book on how to train dogs.

He also watched three other dogs graduate from training. After about a year and a half, he finally got word that he could pick up his dog. He traveled over to Sea-Tac and was handed a big, fat puppy.

To be successful, Williams said you have to be patient, and it takes grit and perseverance.

“When he was 8 weeks old and he peed on himself at three in the morning and starts barking, you can’t get mad him, you have to take him outside,” he said. “The first night I had him, he peed on himself, and I gave him a bath, and then walked over to me because I was on the ground and he peed on me.”

Training was a daily effort that could last for hours. He took Chili everywhere that the dog will need to go with a new owner, such as grocery stores, shops and other areas in the public.

“I took him to the beach,” he said. “I took him to church every Sunday. Just think about it, like you’re going to the store and you just have a little companion that goes with you.”

He also got help from the local Guide Dogs for the Blind group. They met every Monday and had evaluations.

His father, Lee Williams, said he was proud of Carson’s commitment. For many high school students, 17 months is a long time, and can involve a lot of changes.

He would come home from school, interact with Chili, take him for a walk, make sure he was fed, and that was on top of the normal school work.

“Carson has invested his time, his sweat, his energy into this, giving up certain things knowing that he needs to take care of Chili,” Lee said.

The Hardest Day

On Sunday, Carson will hand off Chili to spend the next 10 weeks being prepared to meet the person he will lead.

If he passes that process, Chili will be paired with someone who needs a guide dog. When he’s ready to retire, it’s possible Chili might return to Carson.

While he had fun raising Chili, he doesn’t think he will participate again. The local chapter of Guide Dogs for the Blind has closed, and if he gets another puppy, he wanted to be able to keep him.

White says he wants to continue connecting students with companion animal training programs. He noted that a lot of students in the Tri-Cities don’t have access to the space to raise livestock.

“When people say FFA, they think about the fair and pigs and sheep,” he said. “You would think that this animal science class is full of farmers’ kids, and some of them are, but most of them are not, most of them live in town, so this project breaks down all of the barriers and allows all kids to be able to participate in an animal project.”

This story was originally published October 31, 2021 at 5:00 AM.