The Need...
Disabled people live their lives day by day, without the ability or the convenience of doing small tasks that we take for granted. Dropped items can be a constant hassle for those who are wheelchair bound or who have balance issues. We train dogs to retrieve whatever is dropped to save those individuals the trouble of finding a way to pick up the dropped item. Small things that we do everyday such as open a refrigerator or turn on a light, can be extremely cumbersome on someone with limited mobility, so we train service dogs to perform these task for them. For others, they may live a life of never knowing when they may suddenly become incapacitated by a panic attack, anxiety or a seizure. For these people, it is a nerve-racking experience to ever be alone or to leave their home. This can literally turn into a life and death situation for many. With a trained alert dog by their side, they know help will always be there for them.
Those that go through life without the ability to hear may also be put into life threatening situations by not hearing an alarm. At the very least their lives are complicated by not hearing the phone or a knock at the door. With a dog trained to assist the hearing impaired, they won't so much as miss when someone calls out their name.
These are just a few examples of how a highly skilled service dog can change lives. There is virtually nothing that we cannot train our dogs to do. They perform everything from simple tasks to complex tasks to help increase the quality of life for their owner.
Those that go through life without the ability to hear may also be put into life threatening situations by not hearing an alarm. At the very least their lives are complicated by not hearing the phone or a knock at the door. With a dog trained to assist the hearing impaired, they won't so much as miss when someone calls out their name.
These are just a few examples of how a highly skilled service dog can change lives. There is virtually nothing that we cannot train our dogs to do. They perform everything from simple tasks to complex tasks to help increase the quality of life for their owner.
National Standards Needed NOW
Like our certifying organization, the International Society of Canine Trainers and Assessors (ISCTA), AD4A is strongly in favor of National Standards for both Service Dogs and Service Dog Trainers -- including Independent Review, Mandatory Certification of ALL service dogs and ALL trainers, and Standardized Training for both. This will --overnight-- improve the quality of service dog training, stop "fake" service dogs, eliminate scammers and render the self-appointed Service Dog Police silent.
