It is well documented that service dogs have beneficial impacts on their person's physical and psychologically wellbeing. Research has also shown that service dogs have a major impact on reducing doctor office visits and the number of hours for personal assistant care, thus reducing health care expenses. It can be estimated that of the 130,000 individuals documented as disabled in Salt Lake County, approximately 40,000 could benefit from a service dog program.
People with disabilities who have service dogs:
- Scored higher for psychological well-being, self-esteem, community integration and the amount of control over their environment.
- Decreased the number of human personal assistant hours required for care by an average of 78%.
- Study of 1000 Medicare patients conducted by the University of California at Los Angeles found that those who owned pets had fewer medical care visits than those who did not. (Active Living Nov/.Dec 2002)
- It is estimated that service dogs saved as much as $60,000 in patient care costs over 8 year working span as compared to the $10,000 to train them.1995 @ year study by Dr. Karen Allen et.al
- An assistance dog could save health authorities about $352 per week for health services or $13,027 per year, when annual cost for the dog are taken into account. Ref. Karen Allen: The Healthy Pleasure of their Company
Cost of training can vary dramatically since it is determined by the age, type of disability and support systems of the client. Clients, on average, are in the program between nine and twelve months before they are fully trained to be certified as a service canine team. . GCP clients are billed on a sliding fee schedule for each package. Our real cost for a seven-week training package is $250.00 if we can train in a group and $300 if the situation requires a single individual or family class. Depending on the team's abilities and needs, the cost of training is approximately $5,000.00 for group participation and $8,000.00 for individual classes for each "human-canine team."
Since 2002, GCP has received hundreds of inquires for services and has admitted over 70 individuals/families into the program. Nearly one hundred percent of GCP's clients are receiving some form of disability assistance from a government agency.
Types of disabilities include 1) Multiple Sclerosis, 2) Epilepsy, 3) Brain Injury, 4) Cerebral Palsy, 5) Hearing Impaired and 6) Spinal Cord Injury. Ages ranged from 2 to 65. Most of GCP's clients could be characterized as having multiple problems and few support systems. After "medical alerts" training, needing assistance with personal fear and vulnerability due to one's disability, was the second most stated need to be addressed by a service dog.
There are limited or no resources for people with disabilities to train their own dog or who need help maintaining training. Children with special needs, such as Spinal Cord Injuries, Muscular Dystrophy, Cerebral Palsy and Seizure Disorders are of particular importance to the Canine Partnership Program. These children and their families will be helped to work as a team which results in the creation of a canine partner that has skills to assist with the physical disabilities of the child and also provides the crucial social and emotional support for a vulnerable child.
It is well documented that service dogs have beneficial impacts on their person's physical and psychologically wellbeing. Research has also shown that service dogs have a major impact on reducing doctor office visits and the number of hours for personal assistant care, thus reducing health care expenses. It can be estimated that of the 130,000 individuals documented as disabled in Salt Lake County, approximately 40,000 could benefit from a service dog program.
At Gateway To Canine Partnerships, everyone is special with unique needs and abilities. Gateway's human clients range in age from 2 years to 65 years and represent a wide variety of cultural and educational backgrounds. When people come to Gateway for a service dog, they are treated with respect for their individuality, and the Canine Partnership Program is tailored to suit each person as they set out on their own Pathway to Independence.
