Canine Companions for Independence (CCI)

At a school for under privileged children in Sacramento there is a non-salaried teacher creating quite a stir. For one thing she's called by her first name, Udele, and second, her golden hair is much admired. The classroom she works in is the most popular in the school for Udele is a beautiful golden retriever trained as a facility dog by CCI. CCI is a national nonprofit organization that trains assistance dogs for people with disabilities and for professional caretakers like Jo. Jo uses Udele to enhance the quality of life in the classroom through directed interactions promoting self-esteem. Interaction with Udele is built into classroom lessons on every subject imaginable including disability awareness and citizenship.

Facility dogs trained by CCI work with children and adults in a variety of environments. A physical therapist in San Jose, California uses her facility dog, Tait, to play "catch" to help patients regain balance and coordination. "Having patients reach out and pet Tait, throw his ball, remember his name or ask him to get something may not seem like much, but those exercises help people work on coordination and communication skills," explains Clark Pappas, CCI national program director. Physical and Occupational therapists have found that having a canine companion along is not only good for patients but also for staff and visitors. Studies agree! Human interaction with animals reduces blood pressure, provides an outlet for daily tension and increases overall emotional well-being, according to Occupational Therapy Forum magazine.

Assistance dogs trained at CCI come from carefully selected stock and are bred for trainability and temperament. Puppies start socializing with humans at 3 weeks and at 8 weeks enter the home of a volunteer puppy raiser. For the next year the puppy raiser will attend obedience classes with the puppy, teach in-home etiquette and expose the puppy to a variety of situations. Many puppies accompany their raisers to work. This is an important training as these puppies will someday need to work in hospitals, schools and hospices or assist a person with a disability.

At approximately one year old, CCI puppies return to one of the organization's four training facilities for 6 months of advanced training. The dogs work with professional instructors to perfect lessons introduced by the puppy raiser and learn advanced commands. Upon completing the training, assistance dogs know approximately 50 commands.

There is one more training class necessary before the dogs are certified to work with the public or a person with a disabilityÑTeam Training. This two week class matches interested candidates with the fully-trained Canine Companion.

Class participants learn how to work with a Canine Companion in their particular environment, how to care for the dog's health, and receive an overall orientation to canine behavior. There are both written and practical tests during the class to ensure that the canine/human team will be successful once they begin working in public.

CCI places four types of assistance dogs. The facility dogs that work with professional care-givers, hearing dogs that alert people who are deaf or hard of hearing to important sounds, service dogs who perform practical tasks to assist individuals with physical disabilities, and assisted service dogs that are part of a two-person and canine team and perform interactive and practical talks.

Assisted service dogs are placed with children and adults with severe or progressive disabilities who need support, assistance and guidance to work with the dogs. This support is provided by a trained facilitator. One graduate team in Colorado is comprised of Charlie, an 11 year old boy, his mother, Gail, and their golden retriever, Taj. Charlie was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Brittle Bones). He has broken his legs over thirty times and has metal rods in his legs to keep them growing straight and to help slow down the number and severity of his fractures. Charlie uses a wheelchair and a walker to get around. "All of these things make life much different for Charlie than for other children his age. He has experienced the painful hurt of other children who are afraid to talk or play with him. As his mother, it has been very difficult to watch my child suffer those injuries," Gail says. Two years ago Charlie and Gail attended a Team Training and were matched with Taj. Gail says, "Taj has changed Charlie's life and mine. Taj is Charlie's constant companion and is a friend that never sees his disability. Taj loves Charlie just as he is." Taj and other assisted service dogs help break the ice for children with disabilities when they are out in public. Gail is grateful for the way that people are attracted to Taj and then drawn into conversation with her son. She has noticed that Charlie has become more confident, more articulate and more independent since Taj came into their lives. Taj also helps Charlie with practical things: He opens and closes doors and picks things up.

Antony is developmentally delayed. His mother and he attended a Team Training class and went home with a golden retriever named Natasha. Antony's speech is often difficult to understand because he has cerebral palsy. He has become more articulate through working with Natasha and is much easier to understand now. Antony used to get up repeatedly at bedtime and was unable to settle down for the night. His mother suggests that he pet Natasha and he is soon asleep. It is one of the rewards of going to bed, that Natasha will be right there at his side.

CCI places assisted service dogs with children and adults with a wide range of disabilities. To find out more about assistance dogs, the application process, their use in facilities or how you can help, call CCI at 1-800-572 BARK(2275) or write them at PO Box 446, Santa Rosa, CA 95402-0446.

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