Dog Bless You

When Mac was asked how long he has had Cal, his new black lab mix from the Yavapai Humane Society, he responded, “I had him for 3 weeks and it has been three of the best weeks I have had in a long time.” Needless to say they are off to a good start! 

Mac served in the US Army for eight and half years as a combat engineer. He completed three one-year tours in Iraq where his primary job was to find and clear (a.k.a. detonate or disable) IED’s (commonly known as roadside bombs). 

Cal has already made a trip to California while living with Mac. After that he never left Mac’s side. Mac says Cal is very eager to please and picks up on everything he’s taught very quickly. He hopes they will graduate in the fall from Soldier’s Best Friend.

What is a Service Dog? / Post by Pat Hairston of Canines for Service

Service dogs are trained to assist an individual who is visually or hearing impaired, experiencing mobility limitations or dealing with psychological disorders. There are distinctions between service and guide dogs, sometimes known as assistance dogs, and therapy, emotional support or companion dogs. A service dog has legal access to accompany the person wherever they go; a therapy, emotional or companion dog does not.

Fully trained service dogs are governed by the Americans With Disabilities Act, which defines a service animal as “any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the purposes of this definition. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the handler’s disability.” 

Service dogs in training are governed under state statutes and not the ADA; each state statute has different points and should be researched and understood by the service dog trainer. Key to the NC statute are provisions that the service dog in training must be identified, must be under control of the trainer by leash or harness, and must be the only service dog in training being handled. Further, the NC statute is clear that falsely representing an animal as a service dog is a misdemeanor.

Canines for Service trains service dogs to assist people with mobility limitations, traumatic brain injury and, for Veterans, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After an average of 2,500 hours, the dogs know 90 commands and can pick up dropped items, open doors, and be harnessed to assist someone walking or help to pull a manual wheelchair. The service dog can load a washer and unload a dryer, turn on/off light, pick up coins and give them to their person and lay quietly for hours if their person is in a meeting or just relaxing at home. The service dogs are constant assistants and can help someone with PTSD by creating space between the person and someone near them, assist them in exiting a room or provide tactile (touch) stimulation to help relieve their anxiety. Each service dog is carefully matched to a person considering many factors including the person’s needs, height, life style and the skills the dog is best at. When a match is made and the person receives their service dog, the training is done one-on-one with the person and their dog; not in a group of others receiving service dogs. And, because Canines for Service owns the dog after placing it with a person for five years, liability insurance coverage is provided by Canines for Service. 

How do you find a service dog provider? There are numerous service dog providers that use many training methods, set their own selection criteria for the dog (age, temperament, size, health screening) and decide how much training a dog receives before providing it to a person. Most organizations have an application process and often there is a wait list of two or more years to receive a service dog. Some providers charge a fee for a service dog or require the person receiving the dog to fundraise to help offset the costs of the training. One resource of service dog providers is Assistance Dogs International (ADI). While ADI does not train and place service dogs, they are a coalition of service dog providers that have agreed to define standards of training and have had a review of their practices by peers in the industry. So, what should you look for in a service dog provider? Here are just a few points to consider: 

1. How old are the dogs when provided to a client? 
2. How have the dogs been evaluated for temperament and health? 
3. Are the dog’s hips assessed by x-ray? 
4. Can the dog handle the public settings or is it timid or fearful? 
5. If a private trainer or a paid provider, is there a written contract with clear deliverables and expectations of what the service dog will be able to do? 
6. When training is done with a client is it provided in a group or individually? 
7. Is follow-up training provided? 
8. Who owns the dog after it is placed with a client? 
9. Is there liability insurance coverage provided by the organization providing the service dog? 
10. Is the organization a legal organization in compliance with state and federal laws? 

If you are looking for a service dog and are interested in a Canines for Service and Canines for Veterans service dog, visit our website to learn more www.caninesforservice.org or call for information 866-910-3647.

After meeting only two days ago, Air Force veteran Rick Hayes and his new service dog Malachi are getting along quite well.

Hayes said, “I figured I would come in and there’s a dog trained and ready to go and I would just learn the commands and everything would be great, but it’s a bigger process than that.”

Hayes and Malachi are going through a week of bonding activities. Malachi grew up at the consolidated Naval Brig in North Charleston, a prison for service members who committed a crime while in the military. He now knows nearly 100 commands.

The program, Canines for Service is about 9 to 14 months long. The dogs are all rescued from the shelter. They go through personality tests and are matched with a trained prisoner who will be with the dog 24/7. It’s a deal where both can get a second chance and the prisoners can give back to a veteran in need.

Read more about Rick and Malachi here.

Bill is a disabled veteran who suffers physically and emotionally from his duty as a U.S. Marine. Paco is his heroic service dog funded by the Dog Bless You project and trained by Saint Francis Service Dogs.

Paco gives Bill the courage to go out into public places without anxiety. Paco inspires Bill to get out of the house, do more, and to make friends. The most important thing about having Paco is that Bill is able to take him everywhere he goes. This gives Bill more choices, more independence, more freedom, and more confidence.

Bill says, “Before Paco, I was very lonely. Now, with Paco beside me, I am me again.”

Brandon and Melchi have been together for just 7 months, and Brandon cannot imagine life without him. Melchi was proudly trained by Canines for Service.