Dogs are at service

 

By Cassidy McNea

 

Canadians are using dogs to assist them with mental and physical disabilities.

 

These animals are used by people who have disabilities such as seizures, visual impairment, hearing impairment, autism and mental illnesses. According to volunteer dog groups, Dog Guides Canada and St. John’s Ambulance, the amount of service dogs are growing with more than 2,500 Canadians matched with guide dogs and more than 3,000 therapy dog teams. Each therapy dog team can reach thousands of people annually.

 

Therapy dogs are family pets trained to interact with members of the community in different settings. The Animal Assisted Intervention programs allow individuals to interact with the animals.  Their training is not as specialized as it would be for service dogs that are trained to do specific tasks to help their owners.

 

“Our concern is solely with the dogs’ temperament and we evaluate the dogs to ensure that they have the appropriate temperament for friendly visitation,” said Roberta Hewitt, director of marketing and community relations for the therapy dog program at St. John’s Ambulance.

 

This evaluation will see how the dog interacts with strangers, other dogs, reactions to noise distractions and how it takes a treat from a person in a wheelchair among other tasks.

 

According to St. John’s Ambulance, some reported benefits of therapy dogs can be improved social skills, more smiles, stress relief and higher self esteem.

 

Sandra McCune, a scientist in human-animal interaction, outlined the long term research on AAI in the Applied Developmental Science journal. McCune’s research shows that despite immediate gratification, therapy dogs do not improve mental health long term.

 

Rosemary Bonham-Schriver, has a guide dog for mental illness.

 

“The therapy dog is going to go and meet all kinds of people and engage with a lot of people,” said Bonham-Schriver.

 

“A lot of of Emma’s (the dog) training is about not engaging with a lot of people and focuses on myself. She also can’t be bothered with other dogs. She is just a me dog.”  

 

Guide dogs are trained to help with specific tasks. Dog Guides Canada trains six different types of guide dogs. These are canine vision for blind or visually impaired, hearing guide dogs, service dogs for people with physical disabilities, seizure response, autism assistance and diabetic alert dogs.

 

Laws governing service dogs are dealt with at a provincial level. In Ontario there is a Blind Persons’ Rights Act and Ontario Human Rights Code that protect those with service dogs and their rights.

 

The process for service dogs include going through intensive training school that can range from four months to one year, and not everyone is eligible for a service dog, unlike therapy dogs that are available to anyone.

 

“Schools are looking for someone who is going to benefit from the skills that the dog is trained to provide that will give them additional mobility, safety and independence,” said Alex Ivic, program director of Guide Dogs Canada.  

 

For service dogs, the tasks are specific to a disability, but for therapy dogs, their presence is enough support for an individual’s needs.