By Mary-Justine Lanyon
Editor
For the fourth year, Patty Jensen of Dogs for Better Lives was at the Lake Arrowhead Brewing Company, bringing with her the message of how dogs can improve the lives of so many people.
With her was Laura Encinas of the organization’s training staff. And with Encinas was Noelle, a black Lab who was supposed to be on her way to a new partner in North Carolina. However, Hurricane Helene foiled that plan. Once roads reopen and it is safe to do so, Encinas will take Noelle – a hearing assistance dog – to her new home. Noelle will let her new partner know when she hears something the human cannot.
In addition to training home hearing dogs, Dogs for Better Lives trains dogs to work with people on the autism spectrum. They “act as an anchor to keep the person from bolting,” Jensen explained. By putting its body on the child or adult, the dog provides comforting deep pressure. They can also act as a buffer in social situations and may help the person acquire better social skills.
In facility training, the dogs go to work with professionals who work with people with disabilities – such as special education teachers, psychologists and physical therapists. Having the facility dog present may help the student or patient interact with the professional.
In addition to getting their dogs from shelters, Dogs for Better Lives has started a breeding program. These dogs will be better, Jensen said, for working with those on the autism spectrum and as facility dogs. Dogs from shelters, she noted, may be too high strung for that work.
Dogs for Better Lives has recently started a program in Ohio where inmates at a minimum security prison are training puppies. This, Jensen said, is a win-win-win situation – for the person who eventually receives the trained dog, for the inmate who has a purpose and, of course, for the dog who learns new skills.
When asked if there is a breed of dog that is most successful with this training, Encinas immediately patted Noelle on the head. Labs, she said, are the best – they are easy to care for and they love to work. In addition, they are very friendly and have a “soft mouth.” Since they were bred to retrieve ducks, she noted, they can retrieve items for their new partner without crushing them.
Jensen, a Lake Arrowhead resident, had learned about Dogs for Better Lives when a former neighbor moved to Oregon, where the nonprofit is based, and suggested she might be interested in working with them. Jensen now serves on the nonprofit’s board of directors.
Dogs for Better Lives was formed in 1977. Their mission statement is to “professionally train dogs to help people and enhance lives while maintaining a lifelong commitment to the dogs we rescue and breed and the people we serve.”
There are many ways to volunteer, Jensen said. One of those is to become a puppy raiser. Puppy raisers receive a puppy at eight weeks of age and raise it until it is between 14 and 16 months old. Raisers attend basic obedience classes with their puppies. They also go on public outing to expose the puppies to different environments. The puppies then return to Dogs for Better Lives to begin their next step toward becoming an assistance dog.
For information on becoming a puppy raiser, visit www.dogsforbetterlives.org/puppyraiser. General information is available at www.dogsforbetterlives.org.
Lake Arrowhead Brewing Company donated a portion of the profits from Sunda’s sales to Dogs for Better Lives.
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