Assistance Dogs

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Assistance Dogs

This article acknowledges the fantastic work done by dogs. Whether they are pets or working dogs, they

can be an enormous benefit to people. Said to be man’s best friend, a dog can be companion, friend,

motivator, protector. For a disabled person a dog may be much more of all those things. Dogs learn to

sense your mood and they are always on your side. Nothing like a dog needing his walk to motivate you

to get out in the fresh air even if you do not feel like it. Of course once you are out you tend to feel better

(but the dog knew you would all the time). Whether they are pets or trained assistance dogs, they

adapt to your needs and abilities. They can and do enrich the lives of many disabled people.

A number of organisations provide support or assistance dogs for blind and disabled people. Guide

Dogs for the Blind Association has been training dogs and supporting people over the age of 16 who

have serious sight loss for the past 75 years. There are currently around 4,700 working guide dog

partnerships in the UK, and around 1,000 guide dog pups are born every year. Guide Dogs for the Blind

is a world leader in the breeding and training of assistance dogs. In addition to training dogs to “see” for

their owners dogs may also be trained to assist people with sight impairment combined with other

disabilities,

Dogs have also come into their own as hearing dogs for deaf people, assistance dogs for people with

mobility problems and medical assistance dogs for people with medical conditions. Dogs are trained

to assist people with disabilities to enjoy greater independence and a better quality of life. They can be

trained to assist with dressing, emergency responses if their owner has a medical emergency, retrieve

items such as keys and telephones, load and unload washing machines, pick items off supermarket

shelves, hand over a purse at the checkout and many other things according to the owner’s needs.

Support dogs improve the quality of life for people with epilepsy, physical disabilities and other medical

Conditions.

                  A hearing dog can change a deaf person’s life in many ways. Deafness can be a very
                   isolating. A hearing dog can offer companionship and a feeling of security to a deaf person
                   who may then experience increased confidence and independence.

Support Dogs may be a small as a Jack Russell or as large as an Old English Sheepdog. Most

Seizure Alert Dogs® come from rescue centres and some are donated. The most important attributes

are the dogs temperament and personality.

Pets as Therapy (PAT) is a national charity founded in l983. It is unique in that it provides therapeutic

visits to hospitals, hospices, nursing and care homes, special needs schools and a variety of other

venues by volunteers with their own friendly, temperament tested and vaccinated dogs and cats.

The Cinnamon Trust recognises the great value of pets They help elderly people to keep their pets by

walking dogs and caring for pets when their owners no longer can.

We have much to thank our trusted furry friends for and much appreciation is due to these organisations:

The Cinnamon Trust
[ www.cinnamon.org.uk ]

Guide Dogs
[ www.guidedogs.org.uk ]

Pets as Therapy
[ www.petsastherapy.org ]

Canine Partners
[ www.c-p-I.org.uk ]

Support Dogs
[ www.support-dogs.org.uk ]

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
[ www.hearingdogs.org.uk ]