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Assistance Dogs

From the name itself, you can understand that assistance dogs are trained canines to help people. Those who may have disabilities or are unable to carry out daily activities on their own, these types of dogs are the best for service. From the time they are puppies, they are trained to do simple tasks for humans like pressing buttons, fetching items, moving things around, pushing doors and reaching for objects at a height. The temperament of these dogs is docile and they have a keen sense of smell and understanding human behavior, so expect a furry buddy who is going to be your legs, hands, eyes and ears when you feel that a particular activity is too difficult for you.

Assistance dogs are not just meant for the differently abled. These days there are psychiatric service dogs who work wonders for those patients suffering from a mental illness. They are very timid, understanding and have a keen sixth sense to know when things are not going right. When a person is depressed, they have an uncanny ability to sit quietly by their side and be patient. For those grieving and at a loss, they comfort them silently like no other animal or human could. Many psychiatric hospitals and children’s hospitals that deal with young ones suffering from terminal diseases, are adopting assistance dogs. There have been a tremendous number of cases of people being mentally brought back to life when in the care of a canine. In actuality, all dogs have a comforting, understanding side to them, but these are a specially trained lot who go the extra mile to making life much easier and tolerable for those who are not abled like the rest.

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Prison Rehabilitation Dogs

Prepare to grab some tissues, because this is one of the most beautiful bits you are going to read about today. As you are probably aware, majority of the dog shelters who cannot afford to keep “unwanted” dogs around for long, end up euthanizing them.  There are a small number of NGOs working to make that change. So they have come up with a brilliant idea to bring together so-called unwanted canines with so-called unwanted human beings – prison inmates. In any case, one is lying around in prison, feeling sorry for himself with not so much to live for. Canines in shelters face a similar predicament. Certain lucky prisoners are given the task of training shelter puppies so that they will be of some “use” when they are in society. With the same coin, puppies are transforming the hard-worn lives of inmates by being loving and non-judgmental companions. So, to cut a long story short, there is some hope for humanity after all!

Read this moving article by Huffington Post that highlighted the brilliant idea that’s sparking a revolution in the dog and prison worlds.

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Do you have stories about assistance and rehabilitation dogs that made a change to your life and the lives of your loved ones? Comment below and share it with us!