THE concept for Dog A.I.D was derived from an idea originally conceived by American Stuart Nordensson. Stuart has cerebral palsy, and trains his own dogs to help him better manage his disability in daily life. Dog A.I.D co-founder John Rogerson met Stuart while visiting his organisation, Top Dog, in the USA and decided to introduce this unique idea, training pet dogs to work for their owners as assistance dogs, to the United Kingdom. Working together with his associate Dolores Palmer, John helped set up a pilot scheme in the Midlands area of England in 1991.
Dolores did research Top Dogs in the USA and found it was based on a model where training facilities were situated at a specific venue with people and dogs travelling to the training school. Her experience working with people with physical disabilities in the UK showed her that it was difficult for many people to travel long distances and sometimes even short distances. She therefore decided that there was a need for a more flexible training scheme and went on to set up Dog A.I.D. as a national organisation with trainers across the UK - and she did this while holding down a full time job. The official launch took place in 1996 the most prestigious of dog shows - Crufts.
Dog A.I.D. tries to help people across the country and the training takes place where it is convenient for both the client and the trainer. This may be a hall or the client's own house and is frequently the latter. In addition, the scheme was set up so that there are two stages of training, which means that those people who wish to train their dogs only to be under control are catered for. However, those who reached a good standard of control with their dogs can go on to train them to assistance level. Currently over the years 35 dogs have been trained as assistance dogs and many more have been trained at level one.
But to go back to the beginning, the first dogs were trained by Dolores Palmer and Angela Woodhouse. These were the first two dogs to qualify as assistance dogs and they were a German Shepherd, and a Spaniel who is now retired. For the first few years the scheme existed only in the Midlands but there was interest in extending the scheme nationwide. Dolores, with the help of Angela and many others, set about extending the scheme throughout England, Wales and Scotland. In 1996 Dog A.I.D. officially went nationwide.
At this time, Dog A.I.D. was fortunate to be asked to put on a demonstration at Crufts. So Dolores set about putting a team together and the launch of Dog A.I.D. nationwide was combined with Dog A.I.D's first demonstration at Crufts. Since then Dog A.I.D. has regularly appeared at many shows including the Town and Country Show at Leamington and the Malvern Autumn Show. There is always very good feedback from these shows.
In 1999 Joy Harrison took on the job of demonstration manager as well as working her own dog in the team. Joy also organised stands at many of the shows and is also responsible for setting up a Dog A.I.D. web site, www.dogaid.org.uk, and for maintaining it. This has brought Dog A.I.D. to the attention of many more people around the world.
The fact that Dog A.I.D. did not become a registered charity in the early days has made funding more difficult and the organisation relies on donations from the public and some sponsorship from large firms for specific purposes. Everyone within Dog A.I.D. works on a voluntary basis, from trainers to those running the organisation.
The organisation always tries to recruit trainers with the highest training skills in ordinary pet dog training. However, the best qualifications are an open mind, an ability to be creative and a willingness to work with the client on the same level, as well a good basic knowledge of dog training. The trainers are also encouraged to do a correspondence course which was set up for them and leads to a qualification within Dog A.I.D. It is hoped that this qualification will be recognised outside of Dog A.I.D. in the near future.
In 2000 Dog A.I.D. applied for and was accepted by Assistance Dogs International. Currently Dog A.I.D. is working towards full membership. In addition a final constitution was drawn up in October 2002 with Dolores Palmer, Angela Woodhouse and Sheila Harper being trustees and registration as a charity was applied for. In 2004 Dog A.I.D. became a registered charity.
Dog A.I.D. has grown from a small organisation in Staffordshire and the West Midlands to a Nationwide organisation that has become well known throughout the UK. Help has come from individuals within Guide Dogs for the Blind and Dogs for the Disabled, which has aided the organisation's growth. Good feedback has been received from many people about the training scheme. Currently further trainers are being recruited as the numbers of people applying for assistance are greater each year - especially over the last year. Many trainers are working to capacity and are unable to take on new clients, so the recruitment of new trainers is very important. A number of different strategies for advertising have now been put in place to achieve this and it is hoped that there will be positive results very soon.
A regional Dog A.I.D. fund raising group has been set up in the South East, by Mary Peasley. This group is also looking to attract potential trainers in its area and members hope to set up a regional trainer support group. It is hoped that this idea will be taken up in other regions. The future of Dog A.I.D. looks really good and indications are that it will continue to grow from strength to strength. - Nicole Mackie - assistance dog trainer for dogaid www.dogaid.org.uk
