Autism Service Dogs of America’s Doggie Day Camp is celebrating its third year of teaching children 7 and older how to properly train a service dog while learning compassion for the children with disabilities who will eventually take the dogs home. During the week of camp, the children learn the basic rules of handling dogs and the difference between raising a regular dog and a service dog. Through the experience, the children gain leadership skills and learn how service dogs can help disabled children.
“We hope that through this camp, the children develop a level of respect and better understanding of what autism is and how they can understand that autistic children aren’t that different,” said Kati Rule-Witko, coordinator of the Doggie Day Camp. “It takes understanding to want to engage and become friends with an autistic child.”
With so many people who just don’t understand service dogs and what they do for the people they help this is an amazing program to not only teach the children that are able to attend but to teach the community. The children go home to their parents and friends and tell them all about their experiences at the camp and with the dogs. This is the kind of program that needs to be more widespread if we want to see an end to service dogs being kicked out of restaurants, schools, offices, and public transportation. Teach the children who will be so excited about their expiriences that they will share with everyone they know.
The camp is located in Tualatin, Oregon if you are int the area there is one more camp session this summer. The dates are Aug. 22 through 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and costs $275 and the deadline to apply is Monday. Each day, the campers travel around the community to give the dogs a chance to experience different environments. Planned trips include taking the campers bowling, to a movie, to Bullwinkles and to a swimming pool. The children also get to experience the service dogs enjoying a day off with a BBQ party by the pool. If interested in registering for the camp or being a puppy raiser, visit autismservicedogsofamerica.org.
What a great camp! Anyone interested in learning more about service dogs from people who have trained them and/or benefited from them should check out Partners With Paws: Service Dogs and the Lives They Changed. Happy Tails Books published that book earlier this year, and I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to edit it. I learned so much about how dogs have truly changed the lives of people with disabilities. What was most interesting to me what the “hidden” benefit of helping people, who may become reclusive because of their challenges, to be more social and outgoing. Service dogs not only help people physically, but they help them psychologically, too. http://www.happytailsbooks.com/books/other-book-titles/partner/