 |
Second Chance DogsThe Resource for Everything About Dogs |
|
|
|
Second Chance Dogsby Audrey Frederick
Second Chance Dogs Are you looking for a dog to adopt? Are you thinking of a puppy, but then get turned off by remembering all the work that goes into training a puppy? Or maybe you have never had a dog, know very little about training a dog, but think having one would be nice for the children or as a companion for yourself. There is a little known group of dogs that are associated with the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners that are available for adoption. These are dogs that have been fully trained to lead the blind, offer help to the deaf and be of assistance to other people with disabilities. These are dogs that are very special, they have been potty trained, trained to come on command and trained to do so many things that a normal household would not have the time or the money to accomplish. Their personalities are special too, as they were chosen over many puppies to work with people and perform special tasks. Why are they available for adoption? Well, like people they get worn out, a little stressed having had to work under pressure of protecting or helping their person. As a result some become available for retirement, while most families would keep their original service dogs and get a new one too. Some families can only afford the upkeep of one dog in the family. The retirement age for most service dogs is 8 years of age, which means they still have many years of life left to bring you enjoyment. These are dogs that are very well adjusted to being around people, generally pretty healthy and their training is the best. Then there are some younger dogs, these for a number of reasons did not ?make the cut? as we say. Those that are taken out of service at an early age may have a minor medical problem, cannot adjust to traffic sounds and patterns that are necessary for leading a blind and deaf person or be a little too energetic to be handled by a disabled person. These problems under normal family circumstances would hardly be noticed, but perfection is almost a necessity when a dog is trained for service. Then there are some dogs that never make it through the full course of training for one reason or another. Just like a child may fail in one subject or another in school, some dogs, because of the nature of their job demands perfection may need to drop out of the program. All these dogs are gentle, loving and well trained and need loving homes. If you are in the market for a dog and even if you never thought you would want to go through the process of training a dog, you may want to consider this option. These dogs are the ?cream of the crop,? very special critters that will give you many years of love and devotion. The process of adoption is different for every service dog, depending on each service organization. Some organizations charge an adoption fee, some do not. All require that you fill out an application form and in some areas there maybe a waiting list for dogs. If you are interested in adopting one of these dogs listed below are their on-line web sites: Assistance Dogs International - adionline.org Canine Companions for Independence ? Eye Dog Foundation for the Blind ? Guide Dogs for the Blind ? guidedogs.com NEADS(Dogs for the Deaf and Disabled) ? neads.org The Seeing Eye ? seeingeye.org Though some of these dogs are older that does not stop them from being great pets. Imagine how much fun it would be to have a dog that would obey your commands
Return to Index |
|
|
|
Cannot find it here? Search the internet with the power of Google: |
 |
