Disclosure Statement: To protect the integrity of Compassionate Paws, Inc. all names of individuals and organizations will be withheld. Many organizations that provide this serivce do so with the best of intentions, however sometimes even the best of intentions don't provide the safest possible solution. This page is intended to give families the knowledge and understanding that they have rights and NO organization has the right to take this away from them.
Recently (within the time span of 3 weeks) Compassionate Paws, Inc. was made aware of another organization that trains and certifies service dogs for children with Autsim. This organization provided little to no follow-up for the families and in fact when the families contacted the organizaiton for assistance the organization returned to the family and required the dog back without providing follow-up. Among many other things, one of the families were instructed to give corrections to the dog using heavy handling tactics - which by our professional opinion not only builds fear into a dog, but will create a potentially hostile environment when the dog and child are working together in specific situations.
When researching the option of obtaining a service dog for your child or for someone that you know it is important to know that YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASK questions. Be cautious of any organization that hesitates to answer any questions you ask with anything less than "we will work with you".
Every organization is in it for a reason. Anyone can be a dog trainer. It is simple to go to Barnes and Noble, purchase a book and learn how to train a dog. However, when training a service dog it takes years of planing and implementing your program, learning about the disorder and listening to countless families tell there story before an organization can even start to work with dogs that are going to be placed with a family having special needs.
Everyone thinks that cost is the number 1 concern with receiveing these special dogs. In fact, that needs to be the last question that you ask, but the first question to look at as a possible warning sign when comparing the serivces provided from one organization to another. In todays economy we understand that cost is a huge factor for most if not all families, but is a parent really going to put a price on the safety and educational benefits of their child?
It is a known fact that Autism and ASD's are on the rise and the numbers are going up fast. Service dogs for the children and families living with the affects of Autism truly can be and are a benefit. However, organizations that train these special dogs are also on the rise. As an organization ourselves we do our best to research other organizations and know who is out there, but even that is impossible for us. We can just tell you that most are good, however, some are not.
Our Director of Training, Vicki Pingel, is as passionate about giving families the proper guidance and support when looking for an organization that will work best for their needs as she is with working with the dogs. We have also put many hours of work into our organization creating things such as the "buyer beware safety list" that we provide to the families we work with by providing the guidance to take them to the next step.
For a complete listing of questions that we feel are important and need to be asked to every organization that you are researching please feel free to contact us. Our Director of Training, Vicki Pingel will be happy to guide you onto the right path of making the decision that is going to be right for you and your family.
