Dogs for the Disabled appealing for help from the public to restart their training programme
A CORK charity that trains assistance dogs to be companions for physically disabled children and young adults is appealing for members of the public to volunteer the use of vacant homes as training locations for their partnerships.
Dogs for Disabled currently have more than 200 assistance and task dogs working throughout Ireland, all of which are custom trained to meet the needs of their partner and, once socialised and trained, are gifted at no charge to the recipient due to the charity’s hard-working fundraisers.
In addition to training stability and task dogs, the charity also provides dogs to work in therapeutic settings such as hospitals and counselling services.
Jennifer Dowler, CEO of Dogs for the Disabled, explained that under normal circumstances the charity would use rented hotel space to train their young dogs in tandem with their young clients.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic has closed off this particular avenue to the them, leaning them with no option but to temporarily postpone their dog training programme.
“The children that we work with all have health issues that place them within the higher Covid-19 risk group.
Therefore our previous use of hotel accommodation is no longer an option due to the unacceptable risks it poses to them and would be intolerable for our young people already dealing with significant difficulties,” said Jennifer.
“Therefore, we have had to put our client training schedule on hold, meaning much longer waiting times before the children on our waiting list are able to get their assistance dogs. Covid-19 has impacted on all our lives on all our lives and none more so than our most vulnerable children who are waiting for the dog that will transform their lives,” she added.
With this in mind ‘ the small charity with the big heart’ is desperately seeking ‘ homes from home’ allowing it to restart its training partnerships in safe, secure and comfortable surroundings.
“Our fully trained dogs live and work with children in their homes, so training them within a home environment makes perfect sense. The use of a vacant house with a wheelchair accessible entrance and a downstairs bedroom that can be used for the duration of the training would be life changing for the young people who need an assistance dog to help them walk, gain independence and live fulfilled lives,” said Jennifer.
“I can not stress how important it is for us to maintain our training programme. By volunteering their homes people will be making a real and lasting difference to the lives of those young people who need our help the most,” she added.
Anyone who may be in a position to facilitate Dogs for the Disabled in restarting their training programme can make contact with the charity at www.dogsfordisabled.ie