Articles from prior issues of The Advocate

July/August 2001

Paws For A Cause
by Rinske (Kay) Van Epen, New Hampshire DDS

AS A PART OF NDPW, NADE in NH sponsored a very enjoyable and instructive presentation of the Paws with a Cause dog-training program, led by Patti Tate, a DDS analyst who is also a trainer/field representative, and her spectacular canine co-star, Spice. The now national program sponsors highly intensive, customized training of dogs in activities uniquely designed for a specific disabled person’s needs. Forget about requesting a car-washing, housekeeping, nanny, baseball-playing or otherwise frivolously-inclined dog – these dogs are harnessed, backpacked and task-oriented.

The dogs begin by mastering four cornerstone commands: “take it,” “bring it,” “hold it” and “give it.” Depending on the nature/severity of their limitations, disabled people require varying amounts of time in between those commands as they interact with their dogs, and the dogs accommodate these differences. Spice showed us how he opens and closes doors and answers the telephone. We all wanted to hug him and take him home, but that’s not supportive of canine discipline theory. An overall investment of about $12,000 in the successful training of a service dog and his/her person yields an average return to taxpayers of over $150,000 (in funds not used in entitlement programs for disabled people). The naturally strong retrieving instincts of Labs make them a desirable breed for training, but many other types of dogs also enter service, if qualified. They need strong hips and good muscle strength for pulling. Dogs trained to be hearing dogs exercise even more independent judgment than regular trained dogs. The general “wash-out” rate is about 25 percent for puppies bred to the purpose, and about 75 percent for dogs rescued from shelters.

What happens to a dog after he has completed his term of service? His “person” has first refusal right to keep him as a retired companion. If still young, he may be returned to Wayland, Michigan, headquarters for retraining or he may find a new home from a waiting list of people requesting pets.