PAALS Dogs Assist with PAALS Programs

One of the things we love about serving locally is that we can bring our international work as an Animal Assisted Intervention International member to South Carolina. During our programs that use service dogs in training or designated service dogs we often find our assistance dogs participating. Keep an eye out for how you might get involved with one of the fastest growing parts of PAALS, animal assisted interventions.

At the recent Unleash the Possibilities conference which PAALS sponsored in 

Columbia, there were several sessions about Animal Assisted Therapy. Sherry and her facility dog, Roberta, were excited to participate in several of them. 

 This picture shows a conference participant acting as a facility dog (white shirt on the left). He is simulating the "tug" behavior to assist a patient (on the green ball) work on his balance while Roberta, looks on to make sure they are doing it correctly.

Outdoor Walking with a Motorized Scooter

Right now PAALS is teaching a class for team training with assistance dog recipients being marked with their dog. This month's video was taken during our last team training with windy and her mobility service dog, Warrior. Walking near an electric wheelchair or a scooter like the one in this video is an essential skill for a service dog. This activity can also be a way to exercise a service dog.