Service Dogs enhance independence for people with disabilities. They do this by reducing reliance on other people to perform tasks that they have difficulty performing themselves. These dogs are trained to perform physical tasks such as pulling a wheelchair, retrieving dropped objects, opening doors and drawers and flipping switches for lights or automatic doors.

Sometimes the partnership involves a parent, spouse, aide or partner. These helpers, called facilitators, are also involved in the Team Training process, so that they can learn handling skills and concepts along with the student. These teams are called Skilled Companion Teams.

CCI recommends that each applicant identify a possible facilitator when making an application request. During the application process, CCI can help determine whether a facilitator may be necessary. CCI’s primary goal in the Team Training process is to help develop the maximum amount of independence that a team can achieve with an Assistance Dog.

Individuals must be at least 15 years old to apply for the Service Team program and at least 5 years old to apply for the Skilled Companion program.

Dogs that are chosen to be a Skilled Companion or a Service Dog must have steady personalities and a real desire to work closely with their partners. The trainers pair a participant and dog together at Team Training according to many criteria, including how the participant handles the dog and how the dog reacts to the participant.

To find out more about Dogs In Training, click here.

To have an application sent to you via mail, please click here.