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Disability Assistance Dogs began in June 2004 as a support group for people with assistance dogs of all kinds, located in Bettendorf, Iowa. It quickly became evident that the need for trained dogs far outweighed the supply as there are no organizations in this area that train assistance dogs. Rosina Bignall, our founder, decided that her background in assistance dog training could help benefit others and our program began. We still have a great deal of work to do, but we are committed to helping those who have or need assistance dogs.For more information, please contact us.
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WHAT WE DO: Train service dogs of various types for disabled people and teach disabled people how to work with service dogs.
WHERE WE ARE: We meet for classes at space provided thanks to Redeemer Lutheran Church for training class each week. We hold board and other meetings at various meeting places. Other functions occur in the homes of our volunteers or at public events. We hope to soon have office space in a home based office for meeting with clients. WHO ARE OUR CLIENTS: Any disabled person who believes his/her life would improve through the use of a service dog, and who meets the medical criteria as certified by his/her physician and has the capacity to house and support a service dog can apply to our program. In addition organizations may apply for a facility dog to work with clients at their location. WHERE DO WE GET THE DOGS: Dogs in our program are received from local breeders who support our organization or are dogs owned by our clients. Puppies in our program are raised by volunteer puppy raisers who teach them basic obedience and socialize them in all the types of places they may go as an adult assistance dog. WHAT ARE OUR PROGRAMS: Two program choices are offered. The Supervised Training Program allows the client to participate in the training of his/her dog through a series of classes beginning with basic obedience and finishing with individualized work with our trainer to meet his/her specific needs. The Professional Training Program provides dogs fully trained by our professional trainer to our clients. Each dog is individually trained to meet the specific needs of their partner or organization they will be working with. WHAT ARE THE QUALIFICATIONS OF OUR TRAINER: She has 20 years experience training animals and 10 years training service dogs. She has worked at two nationally recognized service dog training institutes. WHAT OTHER THINGS DO WE DO: Our trainer makes presentations to service organizations and groups to increase awareness and understanding about service dogs. Volunteers participate in public events such as fairs and parades to increase awareness of our organization and the availability of our services. HOW WE ARE FUNDED: Our operating funds come from memberships and charitable donations. We apply for and have received grants to support specific projects.
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