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Resources on Therapy and Assistance Animals
These are local organizations which are involved with training, certification and use of animals for use in psychiatric therapy, social visitation in institutional settings, guides for those with sensory loss and providing physical assistance. If you belong to a group not listed, please contact me so I can add you to the list. These organizations are also looking for volunteers and donors!
Handi-Dogs, Inc. -- This is a very practical, nonprofit organization that helps people train their own dogs to help them with physical tasks. It is the oldest organization of its kind in the U.S. The two Handi-Dogs I know both belong to older women with severe arthritis. These owners cannot do any task that requires bending over and can walk only with difficulty, so the dogs have been trained to take laundry out of the dryer, pick up objects off the floor, fetch objects from tables to their people, flip light switches off and on, etc. People with a wide variety of needs have successfully beome Handi-Dog owners, including those with neuro-muscular disorders, congenital difficulties, developmental disabilities, heart, and respiratory illnesses, cancer survivors, PTSD, partial or total hearing loss, and those with partial or total vision loss who do not want a guide dog, but would like the help of a service dog.
Certification as a Handi-Dog requires passing tests for performing needed tasks, and good manners in public. And these dogs LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their jobs, the strength of the bond is quite impressive. Teaching uses clicker training, a form of selected positive reinforcement. Handi-Dog’s methods have been so well-received they now also have training classes open to the general public for those just wanting a well-mannered dog.
Write them at 75 S. Montego Drive Tucson, AZ 85710, or email Service@handi-dogs.org, or call 520-326-3412 or 1-866-398-4456. There are scholarships available for low-income participants.
Top Dogs Service Dog Training is similar to Handi-Dogs, in that it is also a nonprofit that teaches people with special needs how to train their own dogs; some of the trainers are actually former clients and are disabled themselves. Their focus is somewhat narrower in that they do not train dogs for clients who need assistance with sight, hearing, emotional or stress-related disabilities or any impairment that seriously affects memory, retention, concentration or understanding. They require a two-year commitment, and require clients to have a fenced yard. Top Dogs is very certification-oriented, while Handi-Dogs also accepts those who may just want to acquire certain skills. (This company has no relationship to Top Dogs Blog, we just both chose a cool name for our different endeavors).
Write them at 5049 E. Broadway #102, Tucson, AZ 85711, or call 520-323-6677 or 1-888-257-6790
Theraputic Riding of Tucson (TROT) is a nonprofit, NAHRA certified organization whose mission is to enrich the lives of people with special needs by using therapeutic, equine programs. Cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, traumatic brain injury, emotional disabilities, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, hearing/vision impairments, autism and other conditions can respond to equine therapy. The rhythmic movement of the horse, continual practicing of balance, and sense of freedom contribute to both physical and emotional improvement. The TROT horses are specially selected for the program, and instructors and licensed therapists work with the clients.
Write them at P. O. Box 30584 Tucson, AZ 85751, send email to trotarizona@aol.com
or call 520-749-2360.
Tucson Area Pet Partners is the local affiliate of the Delta Society Pet Partners, a program which tests and certifies people/dog teams to visit places such as hospitals, nursing homes and schools. Classes are one evening per week for five weeks. After successfully completing the course and obtaining Delta registration, TAPP will help match you and your dog to a facility of your choice with visits scheduled at your convenience.
Write them at 10567 North Camino Rosas Nuevas Tucson, AZ 85737 or call Sandy Sachs at 520-544-3178
Gabriel’s Angels, a non-profit organization, has been providing pet therapy to abused, neglected and at-risk children in the Phoenix area for the past eight years, where they have owner-dog teams visiting 80 different locations. The group is now expanding its efforts to Tucson. Volunteers interested in becoming pet therapy teams and helping hand volunteers are invited to contact Jan Hutchinson, Tucson volunteer coordinator, at jhutchinson@gabrielsangels.org, or 520-425-6095. They are also hoping to add cat visitors in the future.
I had heard of programs where prison inmates trained dogs, but was not aware of a local program until I saw this group. Second Chance Prison Canine Program pairs abandoned dogs from the local pound with selected inmates at the Florence prison, who train the dogs to serve disabled people. This unique partnership saves unwanted dogs and gives them a new life, provides a positive goal-oriented program for inmates and provides skilled companion resources for the disabled. SCPCP does not receive any state funds. The local program began this past June, and is seeking volunteers to help with training, veterinary needs, transportation and photographers, in addition to those with an interest in, or advocate for, disabled people, prison inmates, and homeless dogs.
Call Gayle Woods at 742-0338 or write them at PO Box 91157, Tucson, AZ 85742
Below are national organizations that work in communities throughout the country, wherever the clients live. They have representatives at the big Animal Fair in February each year at Reid Park.
Canines for Disabled Kids is a national organization that trains assistance dogs for disabled children, and also for use by those working with disabled children, such as hospital physical therapists. The dogs assist children with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, hearing impairments and other physical disabilities. Dogs are not trained for seeing-eye work. Activities the dogs assist with include retrieving and carrying obects, staying balanced, movement in a wheelchair, alerting to an alarm or other person, motivation in physical and speech therapy, and staying calm in stressful situtations. For more information, see their website above, call (978)422-5299, or write them at: 299 Redemption Rock Trail South, Princeton, MA 01541
NEADS (Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans) is a sister organization to Canines for Disabled Kids, and is oriented towards the needs of adults. Most of the hearing dogs are rescued from animal shelters in New England, while the service dogs, usually golden or Labrador retrievers, are generally donated as puppies by breeders throughout the country. NEADS has trained over 1,000 dog/client teams since it began in 1976. You can call them at (978) 422-9064 Voice or TDD, or write to 305 Redemption Rock Trail South, Princeton, MA 01541
Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) had strong representation at the fair, and I had a nice chat with one of their puppy raisers, and one of the clients who was running the booth. CCI breeds, raises and train golden retrievers, Labrador retrivers, and golden-lab mixes specifically for assistance. Dogs are trained in four areas: service dogs who assist adults with physical tasks; hearing alerts; facility dogs who work with professionals; and skilled companions for children and adults with physical, cognitive and developmental disabilities. CCI also has a special program to provide assistance dogs to injured military personnel. They keep meticulous bloodline and health records to prevent breed-specific diseases like hip dysplasia. They started in 1975, and have graduated over 2,400 teams to date.
You can contact their southwest regional team at (760) 901-4300 Voice or (760) 901-4326 TTY or write to them at PO Box 4568 Oceanside, CA 92052, or call their national office at 1-800-572-BARK.
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