SLC Teacher, Gloria with her Program Assistance Dog Britt, taking an exercise break from the classroom of elementary school in Portland.
CENTRAL POINT, OR – Dogs for Better Lives (formerly Dogs for the Deaf) has successfully placed their sixth Program Assistance Dog with Gloria, a Structured Learning Center (SLC) Teacher with Bridger School in Portland, Oregon. Britt, a two-year old black Labrador, came to Dogs for Better Lives from Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, CA.
Britt graduated from Program Assistance Dog training at Dogs for Better Lives in April 2017 and now resides with Gloria in Portland, Oregon. Certified Assistance Dog Trainer Jenny Nickelson spent six months training Britt teaching her the skills necessary to work in a classroom setting with children with special needs.
“Our Program Assistant Dogs really have a large scale impact, while working in classrooms and counseling centers. It’s truly a win-win for the client and the community served,” stated Dogs for Better Lives CEO Blake Matray.
Britt has made a significant impact on the lives of children in the classroom, as evidenced by the number of children that visit the SLC. “Britt is more than just a dog to these students at Bridger. If we had more dogs like Britt, it would help bring a higher level of humanity back into the classroom,” shared SLC Teacher, Gloria.
Britt is the sixth Program Assistance Dog in the last five years to be trained and placed by Dogs for Better Lives. Program Assistance Dogs are placed nationally and assist full-time professionals such as physicians, teachers, counselors and other licensed professionals with their clients. These dogs offer a calming effect, allowing the professional to better serve their clients and students.
Dogs for Better Lives also specializes in Hearing Assistance Dogs trained to alert people who are deaf or hard of hearing to household sounds and Autism Assistance Dogs trained to act as an anchor to reduce or slow a child’s ability to run off, and provide a calming influence for the child. Dogs for Better Lives has been rescuing dogs from shelters and training them to become Assistance Dogs with qualified clients throughout the United States for nearly forty years. In the 2016-17 fiscal year, Dogs for Better Lives placed 23 Assistance Dogs across the United States.
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Dogs for Better Lives (formerly Dogs for the Deaf) is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization professionally training Certified Assistance Dogs and placing them across the country since 1977. Accredited through Assistance Dogs International, Dogs for Better Lives has been regionally and nationally recognized for its excellence, including Oregon Business’ “100 Best Nonprofits to Work For in Oregon,” The Chamber of Medford/Jackson County Excellence in Business Awards – Nonprofit Sector (2017), top-rated by donors with GreatNonprofits, and nationally recognized as a four-star rating with Charity Navigator. Dogs for Better Lives depends solely on the generosity of private funding to support their critical work of rescuing dogs and enhancing lives. For more information, visit www.dogsforbetterlives.org.
