New assistance dogs facility helps change lives - 13abc.com Toledo (OH) News, Weather and Sports

Two Northwest Ohio programs that help people with disabilities have joined forces. Assistance Dogs for Achieving Independence has moved from its old location in Swanton to the Ability Center of Greater Toledo on Monroe Street.  It's a move that's good for the people and the dogs .

The new facility is major improvement from the old one, and part of that is the new location. The dogs are now closer to training areas like restaurants and malls.

Squirt is one of the many dogs that take what they learn here and go on to change someone's life. Kali Makula is the Training Director for Assistance Dogs,"They pick up things you drop, they turn on and off the lights they can open and close doors, they can help with undressing. They offer stability to someone who has balance problems and they offer companionship. The fact that they are there to give love and attention is a great aspect too."

The training takes anywhere from a matter of months to a couple years and Makula says getting them ready for their jobs is now a lot easier thanks to this new facility and the partnership with the ability center, "Our facility was aged. We had been there a long time, the kennels and the offices were run down and we were out in the middle of nowhere so to get anywhere to train the dogs was quite a distance."

Rhonda Dekoninck is the Director of Outreach and Education for The Assistance Dogs and The Ability Center,"The reason we were able to come together so easily is that our mission statements are almost identical, we help people with disabilities gain independence."

The dogs have air conditioned kennels, outdoor runs and a well equipped training room, and they share the new space with other animals. Two rescue cats live at the new facility because a lot of people who get a therapy or service dog have a cat at home, so they want the dogs to be used to sharing  their space.

A lot of the dogs are Golden and Labrador Retrievers, but a dog doesn't need a pedigree to do the job, "We get dogs from breeders, from families that can no longer keep their pet, shelters and rescue groups."

Assistance Dogs raised about 1.5 million dollars for the new facility. They have a fundraiser this Saturday at Tam-O-Shanter in Sylvania called Dealin' for Dogs. It runs from 7-11pm and will include a poker tournament, raffles and a silent auction. All of the money raised goes right back into the program.

It costs about 18 thousand dollars to train, feed and care for each dog,although very little of that cost is passed on to the new owner. They pair about 20 people with dogs every year.