Not everyone who works has two legs and opposable thumbs.
Some have four legs and a wagging tail.
On Saturday, five assistance dogs in training visited the Oxford Public Library as part of a presentation put on by Paws With A Cause, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Wayland, Michigan.
The program was part of ‘The Way We Worked,? a Smithsonian Institute traveling exhibition being hosted by the library through Feb. 1.
Paws With A Cause (PAWS) trains assistance dogs nationally for people with disabilities and provides its clients with lifetime support that encourages independence. Assistance dogs include hearing dogs, service dogs, seizure response dogs, social support dogs and service dogs for children with autism.
Each PAWS dog is custom-trained to meet a client’s needs by helping them deal with situations in their daily lives.
PAWS dogs can do lots of things such as open and close doors, fetch the phone and other items, pick up dropped objects including paper money, help remove coats, turn lights on and off, help people get out of bed, help and/or comfort a person having a seizure and alert people to sounds such as doorbells, crying babies and smoke alarms.
‘This is what our dogs do ? they love to work,? said PAWS volunteer Andrea Dube, a Harrison Township resident who brought Scooter, a 7-month-old Papillon. ‘Some people say, ‘Oh, isn’t that terrible that you make that dog work all the time.? They want to work. They want to do this stuff. They cannot wait.?
The dogs are not only helpers, they’re true companions.
‘There’s a big emotional bond,? Dube said. ‘This dog is with you 24 hours a day. They have your back. You could be in another room (and) if they hear something, they come running to their client. They’re with their dogs more than they are with their families.?
PAWS dogs also serve as a conversation starter that allows people with disabilities to ‘connect? with others they encounter when they’re out and about, according to Waterford resident Linda French, a field representative for PAWS who brought Ramses, a Labrador Retriever/Golden Retriever mix.
‘When they’d go out into the community as a disabled person before, they were kind of ignored,? French explained. ‘Now, people want to meet them because they want to talk about the dog. It’s something they can relate to.?
More than 2,400 clients nationwide have been served through PAWS over the course of its 33-year history. Dogs come from the organization’s limited breeding program, local animal shelters and donations from private breeders.
The majority of PAWS dogs are bred. ‘We do rescue some, but it’s not very cost-effective to rescue them,? French said.
Puppies spend the first year of their lives in foster homes being raised by volunteers.
Most are placed in these homes when they are about 8 weeks old, then returned to PAWS for formal training when they are approximately 14 months old.
‘We absolutely love these dogs when we are training them,? said Pontiac resident Suzanne Geliske, who’s been volunteering with PAWS for about five years. ‘The hardest day for us is when we turn over the leash . . . I’ve done this for a while and I don’t know about anybody else, but I cry every time I turn that leash over.?
Geliske brought her current foster puppy, Noble, a 4 ?-month-old Golden Retriever, to the library.
People often ask her how she can raise a dog, get attached to it, then give it up. The answer is simple.
‘We know somebody, down the road, is going to have a better life because of our small, volunteer part in the process,? Geliske said. ‘So, that makes it all worthwhile.?
‘It’s a very rewarding feeling and we forget, (because) it’s so much fun, that we are actually giving back,? said Grand Blanc resident Sue Trantham, a PAWS volunteer who brought Kellogg, a 17-month-old Golden Retriever/Lab mix. ‘To be able to give back in a way that gives somebody freedom in their life is just an amazing feeling. That’s what keeps me coming back.?
There is no cost to PAWS clients to apply for or receive an assistance dog.
‘We don’t want it to depend on a person’s financial ability,? French said. ‘That’s why we don’t charge.?
The organization relies solely on donations to cover its expenses, which are by no means cheap.
It costs between $30,000 and $40,000 per dog to breed/rescue, raise, train and place an assistance dog. There’s no government funding available to help pay the sponsorship costs nor are they covered by insurance. Ninety-one percent of PAWS donor dollars are used for program services.
PAWS receives more than 2,000 application requests for assistance dogs annually.
‘The wait can be three to five years (to get a dog),? French said. ‘We only place like 40 to 50 dogs a year. We get over 200 applications that are accepted per year.?
For more information about PAWS, please visit on-line at www.pawswithacause.org or call (800) 253-7297. Check out the organization on Facebook as well.