Assistance Dogs

Guide dogs for the blind or visually impaired

Guide dogs assist individuals with a visual impairment in navigating through indoor and outdoor environments. In addition to companionship and increased social interaction, guide dogs provide their partners with increased fluidity and speed while traveling. A guide dog and its partner work as a team to be successful. Partners must have excellent orientation and mobility skills, including efficient use of a long cane, in order to interpret their environment as well as manage their dog.

Examples of trained abilities:

• Curb, elevation change, and uneven surface identification
• Obstacle avoidance, including head-height obstacles
• Intelligent disobedience (disobeying a command when that is unsafe to follow such as when a car is approaching)
• Locate points of interest (such as doors, chairs, bus stops)

Psychiatric service dogs

Psychiatric service dogs assist individuals being treated for an emotional or psychiatric disorder or disability who require the assistance of an animal because of the condition. These dogs can provide assistance in a medical crisis, treatment related assistance, assistance coping with emotional overload, and security enhancement tasks. Our psychiatric service dogs are individually-trained to meet each client’s needs.

Examples of trained abilities:

• Provide tactile stimulation
• Facilitate social interactions and reduce fears associated with being around people
• Serve as a buffer to help their partner cope with being in a crowd
• Get medication and water when their partner cannot
• Get help or open the door