By Nancy Edwards
Love dogs? Love to walk dogs? Want to raise money for a good cause?
Then check out Canine Companions for Independence’s annual Dog Fest Walk ‘n’ Roll, to be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 4 at the Celebration Plaza and the Historic Canal (White River State Park) in Indianapolis.
The purpose of Canine Companions, a national non-profit organization, is to enhance the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships.
Canine Companions places four types of assistance dogs: Service dogs, placed with an adult who has a disability; skilled companions, for a child or adult with a physical or cognitive disability; hearing dogs, placed with an adult who is hearing impaired or deaf; and a facility dog, for a non-disabled handler that works with a disabled population. Some dogs are also placed with veterans.
“These wonderful canine partners are given free of charge to their recipients to enhance their independence,” said Nancee Wright, Fishers, a volunteer puppy raiser for the Central Indiana Region of Canine Companions.
Wright and her family began raising puppies about 12 years ago. Puppies from the age of eight weeks are placed with volunteers who care for them for approximately 16 months. The dogs are then sent to one of six training facilities in the U.S. (those from Indiana are sent to a facility in Ohio for professional training), and trained to be matched with someone who has a disability.
Dogs are trained to learn up to 50 commands and are taught to serve those with a range of disabilities. For example, dogs are able to pick up keys on the ground and give them to their owners in wheelchairs and assist with carrying items, removing jackets and socks, and open and close doors. A dog for a person who is deaf and hearing impaired, meanwhile, is taught to alert his or her owner that a doorbell has rang or a buzzer on a stove has gone off.
“One useful story we love to tell is how Clover (a graduate of the training program) helps her partner with the laundry,” Wright said. “Clover can place items into the washer or dryer while her partner operates the machine – she also can unload the clothes from each and place into a laundry basket and then pull it to the living room for her partner to fold.”
The dogs are placed with their owners free of charge, so Canine Companions relies on fundraising efforts like Dog Fest to help with the cost of training.
Dog Fest is organized by the local Indianapolis Volunteer Chapter of Canine Companions. Registration is donation based and although there is no minimum fee to participate, “we ask participants to please consider making a donation,” said Ashley Koehler, development associate for Canine Companions. “Additionally, there are fun incentive prizes for those who fundraise for the event.”
Walkers may arrive with or without a dog. Dog owners are asked to place a leash on their dogs. To register to walk as a team for Dog Fest or for more information, visit www.cci.org/dogfestindianapolis.
