Life must be really tough if you have a physical handicap. Picking up dropped keys when you can barely bend over in a wheelchair, attending the door when you don’t even hear the doorbell, waiting for someone to take you to the park. Little things that are trivial to us are an impediment to their independence. Sure, technology does come in handy here. But then one gadget can’t do all your tasks. Moreover, how do you teach a gadget to bestow love? No gadget could possibly do that. What you need is something with a heart and soul. Someone who can complement you. Someone who’ll be there with you, for you, all the time. Probably even a human being could never fit this post. Then, who am I referring to?? Why man’s best friend ofcourse! They ain’t called man’s best friend for no reason at all!!
There are organizations (see below for a short list) which train dogs for the disabled. Here, dogs are trained according to the disability of their owners. For e.g. dogs meant to assist the blind, called guide dogs, are taught to walk their masters to the park, hand them their phones, guard homes, warn their masters of fires and stuff. Hearing dogs, which aid the hearing impaired, are trained to alert their masters of smoke alarms, phone rings, doorbells, baby cries etc. Service dogs are trained to help the physically handicapped open doors, pull wheelchairs, activate switches etc.
The best part is that these institutes do all this at absolutely no cost to the disabled. They function only on our donations. We can (or rather must) show our support either through donations or by paying a visit to these training centers. Even those dogs could do with some love. Training must not be easy too. Imagine a dog takes his master to the park and runs off chasing a cat!!
It is heartening to know that these institutes are gaining the much required attention. In the US, laws now permit entry to dogs for the disabled in public parks (comes as a surprise to us Indians coz in India you’ll even find buffaloes in public gardens!!).
I write this post to thank all those charitable organizations which are doing this noble deed. We’ll always be grateful for bringing smiles to the disabled and giving them a whole new meaning of life. An even bigger pat on the head to those finest and most lovable of God’s creations. Thank You!!
Listed below are some of the organizations that train dogs for the disabled. Check them out!
- http://www.caninecompanions.org
- http://www.pawswithacause.org/
- http://www.lovingpaws.com/
- http://www.dogsforthedisabled.org/
- More than 50 other sites.
Also check out this video by http://www.dogsforthedisabled.org/ A bit long but a must watch.
PS: The doggy and wheelchair logo is a trademark of http://www.dogsforthedisabled.org/
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