As a national non-profit organization, PAWS relies heavily upon the generosity of donors who support the work we do for people with disabilities. Our clients pay no fee to apply for or to receive their Assistance Dog from PAWS. The sponsorship to training and place a PAWS Assistance Dogs is $20,000. PAWS allows and encourages clients to participate in fund raising activities. Our most successful clients are those who played an active role in their fund raising and placement process on their quest for independence.
Please note: It is PAWS policy not to place an Assistance Dog in a home with another dog under the age of 10 years. It has been our experience that a young dog in the home can interfere with the bonding and training process of the Assistance Dog team.
Hearing Dogs
Hearing Dogs learn to alert individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to basic sounds such as a smoke alarm, a ringing telephone, a crying baby or a doorbell. The dog is trained to alert the individual of a sound and then lead them to the sound. If the sound being alerted to is a smoke alarm, the dog then accompanies the owner out of the building. All PAWS Hearing Dogs are taught basic American Sign Language commands. Hearing Dog training takes approximately 4 - 6 months at the PAWS National Headquarters and Training Center. PAWS training Hearing Dogs for individuals 18 years of age and older.
If you would like to receive more information about applying for a PAWS Hearing Dog, please contact us.
Service Dogs
Service Dogs are custom-trained to assist people with physical disabilities or seizure disorders. Service Dogs can perform tasks such as opening doors, turning light switches on/off, or picking up an object as small as a dime. Should the client fall, the dog can even be trained to act as a brace so the person can regain position. Service Dog training takes approximately 6 - 9 months at the PAWS National Headquarters and Training Center. PAWS trains Service Dogs for those14 years of age and older.
If you would like to receive more information about applying for a PAWS Service Dog, please contact us.
Seizure Response Dogs
PAWS is the nation's largest provider of Service Dogs trained to deal with seizure disorders. A dog can be trained to (among other things) push life-alert buttons, help and/or comfort a person during a seizure and get help or retrieve the phone for the client. Although we do not profess to train dogs to detect seizures, several of our Seizure Dogs have, after several years with a client, developed the ability to alert their owner of an oncoming seizure. Seizure Response Dog training takes approximately 6 - 9 months at the PAWS National Headquarters and Training Center. PAWS trains Seizure Response Dogs for individuals 14 years of age and older.
If you would like to receive more information about applying for a PAWS Seizure Response Dog, please contact us.
Service Dogs for Children with Autism
In June of 2009, PAWS began a two-year pilot program for families living with Autism. The Service Dogs for Children with Autism program at PAWS places highly-skilled Service Dogs with children with Autism. The program's goals include having the dog help with social interactions and relationships; help with verbal and nonverbal communications; help increase a child's interest in activities or play; and help decrease overall stress within the family and home life.
To children with Autism, everyone, everywhere and everything is 'outside' of their world. Dogs can break into this world by always being there when they are needed by the child; dogs don't pass judgment on a child, like humans tend to do. By nature, the dog does not care that the child has Autism; they only care that they are a part of the child's life.
The Service Dog can facilitate hand/eye coordination. Socially interacting with their Service Dog allows for the children to have a friend - this often eludes children with Autism, as they typically lack the necessary social skills to participate in group activities or social outings.
The Service Dog can be vital in teaching the child life skills. The child learns to comb and brush the hair on the dog and they, in turn, learn to do it for themselves. The same things can be done with brushing their teeth, bathing and getting dressed.
Children who have been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum disorder can qualify for the PAWS Service Dogs for Children with Autism program under the following criteria:
- 4 - 12 years of age
- in an ongoing education program
- in a physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy or recreational therapy program
- have excellent family support
If you would like to receive more information about applying for a PAWS Service Dog for Children with Autism, please contact us.
Service/Guide Dogs
A Paws With A Cause Service/Guide Dog is an Assistance Dog that can help a person who is blind or visually impaired and has a physical disability requiring the use of a manual wheelchair for independent travel. Service Dog tasks may include opening and closing doors, turning lights on and off, dressing and removing articles of clothing, picking up and retrieving objects and pulling a wheelchair. Guide Dog tasks involve curb work, being sensitive to changes in elevation, guiding around clearance issues (pedestrians, overheads, etc.) and guiding a person safely around and through street traffic. Service/Guide Dog training takes approximately 9 months at the PAWS National Headquarters and Training Center. PAWS trains Service/Guide Dogs for individuals 18 years of age or older. The Service/Guide Dog program is able to place dogs in limited areas throughout the country.
If you would like to receive more information about applying for a PAWS Service/Guide Dog, please contact us.
If you or your child are much younger than the above minimum ages, we recommend that you visit the website of Assistance Dogs International (www.assistancedogsinternational.org) for a listing of member programs, some of which train for younger children.