By Jennifer Reed
As we announced last month, we have successfully reached our fundraising goal for Good Dog! Autism Companions!
Now, we are excited to make a new announcement: Good Dog! Kiwi—now known as Good Dog! Drake—has been selected to serve the needs of children with autism and other disabilities in our community!
For the last several months, the trainers at Good Dog! have been working to prepare “hopefuls” like Drake for service work. All but one of these special dogs will be trained as personal service dogs and matched to eagerly awaiting families. Meanwhile, Drake will have the unique opportunity to help many children as the organization’s first-ever facility dog.
Two other puppies in Drake’s age group—Midas and Bucky—were recently matched to families. Another pup, Huckleberry, will be matched in June and three more—Olaf, Denali and Happy—will be matched in August. These puppies live with trainers in different states around the country, including Washington, Michigan and California, and will go on to their forever homes after their training is complete.
Drake is currently living in Oklahoma with her trainer, Samantha, and playmate, Good Dog! Huckleberry.
So, how does each pup get paired with the perfect family?
The process of selecting an ideal dog for each home is known as “matching.”
Dogs being placed for personal service are evaluated for a match based on three factors. First and foremost, each hopeful must be matched to the child he or she will be working with. Secondly, he or she must be matched to the handler (usually a primary parent or caretaker) and finally, to the family as a whole. It is the organization’s job to determine a successful match based on the unique personality of each dog and the specific needs of the child and family.
Matching a facility dog like Drake is a bit different.
Because there is no single child or family with whom to match the facility dog, she is matched to the work environment instead. A dog working in a school or other program that caters to children with autism must have a special set of personality characteristics, including a desire for routine and an ability to bond with multiple individuals. She must especially be comfortable and accustomed to interacting with many different types of people, including those with physical or developmental disabilities. In addition, the dog should have a very calm nature and good social behavior.
The process of matching a handler is also reversed for the facility dog. Rather than match the dog to the handler, the handler will be chosen specifically to match the dog. Once the facility dog meets the required environmental criteria, Good Dog! will “work backward” to find the perfect handler for her.
Just as before, Drake will be partnered with a local autism service provider, like a special education teacher or therapist, who will use her to help children with autism meet their goals during therapy sessions or at school.
Drake was matched to The Drake Center because her trainer believes she has the perfect temperament for a classroom or therapy environment.
According to Samantha, Drake is very social and energetic, but is able to relax easily. She also loves children and is naturally drawn to them.
“She lives to have a child hug her,” Samantha said, “and she melts into them when they do.”
We absolutely cannot wait to meet her.