Canine Assistants 1

By Martha Woodward

Canine Assistants is a non-profit organization founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1991 by Jennifer Arnold for the purpose of training and providing service dogs to enhance and improve the lives of children and adults who have physical disabilities, seizure conditions or other special needs.

When Arnold was a junior at Atlanta’s Lovett school, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which put her in a wheelchair and seriously disrupted her life. Remarkably, 2 1/2 years later, her symptoms went into remission. And today she is making sure that people with disadvantages   will have one advantage that she never did. At the training complex just down the hill from the brick ranch house that Arnold shares with her husband, Kent Bruner, 36, an Oklahoma-born vet she met at a veterinary conference, a few dozen golden retrievers are being taught to open doors, flip wall-light switches and carry packages for humans who can’t.

CA are currently placing between 75 to 100 dogs annually while training another 120 on the company's farm.  

A service dog is one type of assistance dog that primarily provides physical or mobility assistance such as guide, hearing, service, seizure response, and emotional support. The breeds of dogs trained are Golden Retrievers and Labs primarily, although Canine Assistants does have Golden and Lab mixes, as well as other Golden mixes that come from our breeding program, although Canine Assistants also uses dogs adopted from shelters and rescue programs.

Puppies begin their training at two-days- old. It takes about a year and a half to teach the dogs a wide variety of commands, including opening and closing doors, picking up dropped items, and turning on and off lights.

Anyone who has a physical disability, seizure condition or other special need such as diabetes or autism may apply for one of our dogs. Applications can be downloaded via the Web site at www.canineassistants.org. Once received, the Recipient Coordinator will contact the applicant within 4 to 6 weeks to conduct an interview and discuss the application. If it is determined that a service dog or seizure response dog will be of benefit to the applicant, they are then placed on the waiting list which could take from 1 to 5 years.

The waiting is needs-based; those with the greatest need go to the top of the list. Each applicant is evaluated based on how much a dog could do to help physically, emotionally and socially.  In spite of the long waiting list, Canine Assistants encouraged all who need their services to apply.

Canine Assistants will place dogs with children usually starting around 5 to 7 years of age. Yet, families with younger children are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, as their child will usually be eligible for a dog after time spent on the waiting list.