Service Dogs, A Worthy Charity

          It is my intention to do what I call a charity "spotlight" once a month. I hope to shine a light on some very worthy dog related charities. For October I chose to shine the spotlight one Canine Companions for Independence, or CCI.

          The People at CCI do amazing work with some very special dogs. They raise, train and place service dogs for the disabled. CCI was founded in 1975 and they placed their first dog in 1976. To say the folks at CCI are an experienced bunch would be an understatement. There are three types of dogs CCI utilizes for their programs. Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, or a mix of the two. These dogs are bred by CCI and great care is taken in the raising and training of these dogs, which produces some of the finest assistance dogs in the world. The dogs are trained to respond to over 40 commands and they are trained for one of four specific categories.

          1) Service Dog: Helping adults who are physically disabled.

          2) Facility Dog: Helping teach children about how these dogs help the disabled, as well as helping people who are working one on one with the disabled.

          3) Skilled Companions: These Dogs work under the care of a facilitator (parent or guardian) to help with the needs of a disabled child or adult.

          4) Hearing Dogs: these dogs help with those who are hearing impaired.

          As I have mentioned before, these dogs learn over 40 commands and can do everything form pulling a manual wheel chair to picking up dropped items, to opening doors and turning lights off and on, and so much more. You can learn more about this wonderful program by visiting their web sight WWW.CCI.Org. I learned a lot from their site, it was a great resource for this article. If you have the means, and this charity speaks to you, think about sending them a few dollars. Every little bit helps and they can use all the support they can get. Their web site makes giving easy and painless.

          There is some more info under the Canine Charity Spotlight, located on the left side. There you will find a story and a photo. It helps to show how amazing these dogs really are and how they affect and touch the lives of those around them.

          Thanks for reading, and remember, keep your furry family members healthy and happy.


Nick C
DoggieDiaries4u@gmail.com