Support
Dogs, Inc. Canine companions make a dramatic difference
By Pam Droog
To most people, a dog is a pet. To people with cerebral palsy, spina
bifida, muscular dystrophy, arthritis or other conditions, a dog
can be a lifesaver.
Back Row (left to right): Georgi Fox; Jack Emry; Barb Stears,
vice president; Kim Cerny; Robin James; Vicki Riek, president
Front Row
(left to right): Kate Lapham with Libby; Patti Marshall, treasurer
with Scout; Bob Hansen, executive director with Griffin
Support Dogs, Inc. provides, at no charge, service dogs that make
a daily difference in the lives of thousands of St. Louis area
residents. The dogs can offer a life of independence and productivity
instead of one of confinement and isolation. They’re trained to
open doors, answer phones, pull wheelchairs, pick up items as
small as a dime and provide emotional and physical support.
Guiding Support Dogs’ growth and success is a dedicated board
of 12. “It’s very much a working board,” says Robert Hansen, Support
Dogs’ executive director. “Board members participate in training
classes, work in our booth at events, even raise puppies for us.”
He explains, though the group is 20 years old, it’s evolving from
a “mom-and-pop” organization into a larger business entity. “As
we grow, hopefully we’ll attract community leaders to our board,”
he says. “But until then, each board member is very important
and believes very much in what we do.”
Support Dogs board chairman Vicki Riek, director of Diversity
and Affirmative Action at Saint Louis University, explains, one
board member has her own service dog, two have financial backgrounds
and three are attorneys. “Two who are in real estate helped us
purchase our building and they also ended up on the board,” she
says.
Support Dogs’ building was acquired in 1999 through a challenge
grant left by businessman Jim Hank, in honor of his service dog,
Clive. The Support Dogs board launched a capital campaign to meet
the challenge, raising money for a down payment and renovations
to the former church. “We moved from leasing less than 3,000 square
feet to owning a l4,000-square-foot building, and we use every
bit of it,” Hansen says. The facility houses kennels, a training
floor, grooming area, medical clinic, offices and a conference
room. “The move took us to the next level,” Hansen says, “but
also created a new set of challenges.”
The main challenge is coming up with Support Dogs’ annual $410,000
operating budget. Becoming a United Way agency allowed the organization
to expand its staff, programs and services. Anheuser-Busch has
donated a lift-equipped accessible van and recently gave $35,000
for permanent kennels. Ralston Purina donates dog food, which
saves about $500 to $700 a month. And area veterinarians give
discounts or sponsor puppies raised by volunteers. “A lot of people
out there send us $5 a month, and they mean as much to us as those
who give large gifts,” Hansen says.
Support Dogs places 10 to 15 service dogs a year with partners.
“The need overwhelms the supply at the moment,” Hansen says. Each
placement represents $25,000 to $27,000 in terms of man-hours,
food, supplies and medical care for the dog’s 24-month training
period. “If we could increase the annual budget by just 20 percent,
we could double the number of dogs we could place each year,”
Hansen notes.
To help reach that goal, the board recently began the process
to set up an endowment. Support Dogs also issues three annual
appeal letters. “We’re also looking for our own unique, trademark
fundraising event,” Hansen says.
One thing the board will not do is charge a fee for service dogs,
Riek says. “It has been discussed, but in reality that’s against
our principles. If we don’t charge, it doesn’t matter how much
money you have. We still can make a good match.”
Making that match is what sets Support Dogs apart from similar
groups, Hansen believes. At any one time, about 45 to 60 puppies,
mainly Labradors and Golden Retrievers, are in training at volunteers’
homes. They attend weekly classes at Support Dogs, and when the
puppies reach 18 months, they move into the facility for six to
nine months of “Canine College.” There, a dog learns how to spend
the day at an office, or go to a restaurant and not want the food,
or walk through a park and not chase squirrels or cats (several
cats live at the facility so the dogs will get used to them).
Once a person receives a service dog, the pair spend about eight
years together, based on a dog’s lifespan.
For every 10 dogs that graduate, usually only four will make it
as career dogs, Hansen says. The others, however, may enter Support
Dogs’ pediatric therapy program. “We place the dogs with kids
who are homebound,” Hansen explains. “The dogs play with the kids,
retrieve and help them do things. It has turned into a very successful
program.”
Another Support Dogs program, TOUCH (Therapy of Unique Canine
Helpers), trains volunteers and their own pets to visit hospitals,
nursing homes, hospices and other health care facilities. Support
Dogs trains 75 to 100 Touch Teams annually, and teams make about
30,000 visits across the metro area each year. “From Great Danes
to poodles, a dog gets an instant reaction,” Riek says.
The board has developed a program for touch dogs to visit elementary
schools and help educate children about people with disabilities.
Sometimes, however, just seeing a service dog pulling someone
in a wheelchair can be educational. “The self-esteem the dogs
create for these individuals is remarkable,” Hansen says. “People
in wheelchairs typically are ignored, but with a dog there, people
stop and talk. This helps social interaction tremendously.”
Right now the board is reviewing Support Dogs’ strategic plan
and developing a campaign to spread the word about Support Dogs.
“For all the wonderful work that goes on here, the organization
is not that well known,” Riek says.
The board also is busy planning Support Dogs’ annual graduation
ceremony, to be held later this fall. The event honors everyone
who has received a service dog or passed Touch Therapy training
the past year. All the puppy raisers, veterinarians and trainers
attend. “You have to bring your own box of tissue,” Hansen says.
“It’s quite an emotional night but a very, very happy one.”
Pam Droog is a St. Louis-based free-lance writer.
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