Enrique Mesa
Nov. 1, 2025
We hired Jason to help us train our yellow lab, Rory, to be a diabetic alert service dog for our 11-year-old son. Jason and his team have been incredible for this entire journey--which we are now more than a year into! Jason is always incredibly responsive, very easy to communicate with, an excellent teacher, and Rory loves him! He clearly enjoys his job, is very knowledgeable, and is great with children and dogs.
Working with Elite Dog Training in New Hampshire, Jason gave us advice on which puppy to choose (taking into consideration gender and breed), and started scent training with us when Rory was 11 weeks old. Jason has focused on the scent training and service dog component of the training, while the New Hampshire chapter led the obedience and group training portions (since we live in New Hampshire). Jason provided great suggestions and one-on-one training sessions with my son and I. He helped us trouble shoot any issues and helped both son and Rory develop a great bond. He has trained us through scent training with tins in the open, to tins hidden on my son, to open air scenting with my son, to passing the public access test. He worked with us in our home, in a variety of public areas, and at the school.
Jason has been invaluable in integrating Rory into the school system. He is a great presenter to the school administration and has been an invaluable resource for the school, addressing their administrative and logistical concerns. He has walked us all through how Rory and my son will thrive in the school environment. He has visited the school to meet with the school team and to walk my son through each of his classrooms to show him where to place Rory, how to place her in the room while he is working, how to navigate P.E., lunch, and recess, how to interact with the public (including other children) and has been very helpful in troubleshooting throughout it all. He was very well received by the teachers, administrators, school nurses, and the school community. My son loves him and describes him as “awesome!” and “the best!” Rory can’t stop wagging her tail whenever Jason is near, and always wants to play more with him.
Jason answered every question we had, and was very patient with my son. Not only is my son diabetic, but he is also easily distracted (ADHD/ADD) and on the spectrum. Jason was able to explain things to my son in a way that he could understand. He has a great balance of humor and seriousness, which my son really responds to.
We highly recommend Jason and his team!