Providing hope at both ends of the leash
The purpose of this division is to provide clients with mobility needs a dog that can exceed their expectations for an assistance dog. While their are many types of mobility programs out there our program combines matching our high energy mobility clients with a dog that suits their lifestyle.
The dogs in this category are trained to provide tasks to people who have physical limita,ons. Tasks the dog may do include (but are not limited to) retrieving items, pressing buttons and light switches, opening cupboards and doors, assisting with removing clothing, pulling a manual wheelchair and bracing. The clients who benefit from these dog are those who may be fully ambulatory with other physical limitations, power or manual wheelchair users who have varying degrees of ability to ambulate or not.
An ideal candidate for one of our mobility dogs would be an individual who uses a mobility device wheelchair (power or manual), walker, crutches and who is furthering their career, education, sport and personal life and needs a little bit more help with independence outside of the home.
Tasks A Mobility Dog Can Preform
Pulling Tasks
A properly matched team who is matched in size, weight and appropriate equipment is able to perform such tasks as; pulling a manual wheelchair, providing momentum pull to an ambulatory individual, pulling open doors and removing clothing.
Stability Tasks
A properly matched team with the appropriate equipment, porportions, and hours spent training can utilize the dog for such tasks like stabilizing when standing, bracing and stability when walking, assisting when transferring.
Retrieval Tasks
A properly matched and in tune team works together to seamlessly have items retrieved by name and/or off a surface and placed in the individuals hands, lap or on the counter, along with having the dog bring an item by name to another individual.
Physiolgical support
A properly matched and well trained team can learn to work in tandem to be alerted to the humans changes in physiological changes such as heart rate, blood pressure, tremors. The dog can assists by on command be taught to strategic pressure to various parts of your body to calm this dysregulation