All About Guide Dogs and Assistance Dogs


Man's Best Friend on the Job
By Kate Moss, Family Support Specialist, Texas Deafblind Outreach


A major focus in my life is a beagle, specifically my beagle,
Byrd. She consumes a great deal of my time, energy, and cash, but
in exchange provides me with a great deal of service. For
example, she is a first rate burglar alarm, floor cleaner, alarm
clock, and foot warmer. She is a personal trainer insisting that
I walk everyday no matter the weather conditions. Everyone in the
neighborhood speaks to me because I am connected by a leash to
her and ignoring me would seem rude. She is often my comforter,
and frequently my entertainment. As you can tell, I love her. In
fact, I like dogs in general. That's why I was eager to learn
more about Assistance Dogs and to share that information with
you.


I started out on my quest thinking about dog guides and hearing
dogs because I have had some experiences with both through the
years. After looking on the Internet just briefly, I was reminded
that the scope of support provided by dogs is much bigger than
just these two jobs. If you want to do your own search, I have
listed some of the websites and organizations you may want to
check out at the end of this article. There are too many to
adequately profile in this newsletter.


Types of Assistance Dogs:

Dogs have been trained to provide many different types of
support. Though they may be referred to by different titles, they
seem to fall into roughly five general categories. These include:

*   dog guides (seeing eye dogs) who provide visual support for travel
to individuals who are visually impaired and can work independently with
the dog,

*   hearing dogs who provide auditory support to individuals who are
deaf or hearing impaired and can work independently with the dog,

*   service dogs who provide support in performing practical tasks to
individuals with physical disabilities and can work independently
with the dog,


*   assisted service dogs who provide companionship and practical
support to individuals who require the assistance of another
person to work with the dog,

*   facility dogs who work with a trained professional to provide pet
facilitated therapy and interactions.


Tasks Performed

Some of the services these dogs provide include assisting with
safe travel, responding to fire alarms, telephones, and alarm
clocks, picking up dropped objects, pulling wheelchairs,
predicting seizures, helping with stability for walking, and
relieving anxiety and depression. The range of things dogs have
been trained to do is truly amazing.

Breeds and Types of Dogs Used

Most of these dogs come from pedigree stock and are bred for
these jobs by the programs that offer them. However, some of the
dogs, a small percent, come from animal shelters or other
sources. Most begin their training while still puppies, although
a few grown animals are picked up for these programs. A variety
of breeds are used, including such breeds as Labrador Retrievers,
German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Shelties and Pembroke Welsh
Corgis.


Who provides these dogs?

Many nonprofit and for-profit organizations that provide these
dogs are located throughout the United States and in other parts
of the world. Organizations like: Assistance Dogs International,
International Association of Assistance Dog Partners, and Delta
Society National Service Dog Center are only a few of the groups
that provide information on the many different organizations that
are training and providing these dogs. The entire list is much
too long for me to share with you in this article. But most of
these organizations have their own rigorous training program for
the dog before it is deemed ready for service, and also for the
individual receiving the dog before it is actually placed.


Training

These dogs are so amazing, you may wonder how they are trained.
Early training typically takes place for most dogs from the time
they are puppies. They are placed with a "foster" family
(raisers) until they are grown. One example of how that is done
comes from Canine Companions for Independence. They place
carefully selected pedigree pups with volunteers until they are
13 to 18 months old. (< www.caninecompanions.org >, 1998) Both
puppies and raisers participate in training classes where they
learn basic canine skills. Raisers must spend time playing with
the puppy, exercising it, and, in general, teaching it to be
social. Living in the home of the raisers, the puppies learn how
to be quiet and still. Some puppies also travel to work with
their human so they will learn how to ride in vehicles or to wait
patiently and quietly under a desk.

After this training period is complete, the raiser turns the
puppy over to Canine Companions where the dog goes through six
months of advanced training before being matched with a
prospective recipient for Team Training. The team (dog and human)
participate in another two-to-three weeks of training before they
actually "graduate" and the dog is placed permanently.


Cost of dog

As you might guess, all of this training can be expensive. So how
much does it cost to get one of these dogs? Most of the training
expenses for these programs come from charitable donations,
grants, and corporate support. There may be some cost to the
individual receiving the dog, but that cost is nominal. For
example, Canine Companions charge a $25 application fee and $100
for supplies. Other organizations such as Guiding Eyes for the
Blind do not charge the blind recipient for his or her dog.
"Anyone age and over who is legally blind is eligible to apply
for a guide dog. Donations cover the $25,000 it costs to graduate
a guide dog team." (< www.guiding-eyes.org >, 1998) It's probably
a good idea to check on the costs with the agency providing the
dog to learn about their particular requirements.


Who is Eligible to Receive a Dog?

Each program has its own eligibility requirements based on the
type of assistance dog you want. It is important to find out what
each organization requires. For example, organizations providing
dog guides typically require you to be at least 16 and to have
good orientation and mobility skills. Other types of dogs and
other programs have different requirements. Canine Companions'
eligibility requirements vary according to the type of dog you
are requesting. Their eligibility requirements are listed below:

People with disabilities other than blindness who can demonstrate
that a Canine Companion will further their independence.
Applicants for hearing or service dogs must be over 18 years of
age. Applicants for assisted service dogs must be over 5 years of
age.

Applicants for facility dogs may be the Director of an
institution providing a home for people who will benefit from the
skills of a facility dog. The applicant must have a committed
support network to facilitate and assist the Director and Canine
Companion team receiving a Canine Companion.

Where to go to find out more

Assistance Dogs International (ADI)
Nonprofit programs in the assistance dog field which train guide,
hearing and/or service dogs have come together in the last decade
to develop Standards & Ethics designed to safeguard the welfare
of assistance dogs, disabled students and graduates, as well as
the community.

c/o Canine Partners For Life
230 Whitehorse Rd.
Cochranville, PA 19330
(610) 869-4902, (610) 869-9785
http://www.assistance-dogs-intl.org/


Canine Companions for Independence
A nonprofit organization that provides highly trained assistance
dogs to people with disabilities and to professional caregivers
providing pet assisted therapy.

National Headquarters
P.O. Box 446
Santa Rosa, CA 95402-0446
(800) 572-2275 V/TDD
http://www.caninecompanions.org/index.htm


Delta Society
An organization which promotes animals helping people improve
their health, independence and quality of life.

289 Perimeter Rd. East
Renton, WA 98055-1329
Phone: (800) 869-6898
Fax: (206) 808-7601
deltasociety@cis.compuserve.com
http://www.deltasociety.org/


Guiding Eyes for the Blind
A provider of dog guides for individuals with blindness.

611 Granite Springs Rd.
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
Phone: (800) 942-0149 or (914) 245-4024
Fax: (914) 245-1609
http://www.guidingeyes.org/index.html


International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP)
A nonprofit, cross-disability organization representing people
partnered with guide, hearing and service dogs.

P. O. Box 1326
Sterling Heights, MI 48311
(810) 826-3938
http://www.ismi.net/iaadp/


US Council of Dog Guide Schools
Ten dog guide schools in the USA formed this organization to work
on projects of mutual interest and concern, such as safety and
access issues.

c/o Leader Dogs for the Blind
1036 S. Rochester Rd.
Rochester, MI 48307
(248) 651- 9011





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