Why 4 Paws? Over the past several months, we have encountered questions over why we chose 4 Paws and not another agency. I (Maggie) made the ultimate decision to choose 4 Paws for Danny’s service dog. To be completely honest, God sent 4 Paws to Danny. There is not a doubt in my mind.
I happened to see a story about 4 Paws on the news one night. A local family was fundraising to obtain an autism service dog for their daughter. I was so taken back and just said to myself, “Wow, that’s what Danny needs!” I then came to my senses and thought how crazy I must be. I could see where they would cost so much money, but boy that was a lot of money! I quickly put it out of my mind. Over the next several months, I couldn’t stop thinking about 4 Paws and a dog to help with Danny. We would continue to have situations daily, where one of these dogs could have helped us out. I finally had to apply and whala! Here we are!
Below I have listed some competitive advantages taken straight from 4 Paws own website. In red, I’ve added my comments as to how they relate to Danny, our family, and our decision to choose 4 Paws.
1. Challenges are welcomed. 4 Paws is willing to reach out and tackle the more difficult placements. Danny has a genetic neurological anomaly. Under this umbrella comes a multitude of neurological conditions (seizures, autistic behaviors, mental retardation, impulsivity, communication deficits, etc.). We wanted an organization that would not just train a dog for a general disability, such as only autism, only seizures, etc. We wanted an organization that would train a dog for Danny and his specific needs. 4 Paws was perfect, and definitely qualified for the job!
2. Enviable success rate. We have a 98% success rate in placements using donated and rescue animals. I urge you to spend sometime on the 4 Paws website (www.4pawsforability.org ). Read about Karen’s experiences and what drove here to create 4 Paws. Learn about her former service dog, Ben, and what a leading role he played in the finding of 4 Paws and in Karen’s life-changing experiences. Read about the trainers, countless volunteers, stories of other families waiting or experiencing the joy of bringing a service dog into their family. I already feel as if 4 Paws is part of our family. The difference this organization is making in people’s lives is a miracle.
3. Flexible training. Training that can provide unique and highly customized kinds of placements. When researching other service dog organizations, their level of training was not anything like 4 Paws. I did not find the support in learning to extent we will have with 4 Paws training. The training is very intense, hands on, and provides a high regard for creating initial bonding time between the recipient and the service dog.
4. Nationwide. National outreach rather primarily regional. We did find other agencies, one that seemed very reputable right here in the
5. Open to more individuals. No restrictions placed on age at placement. Danny qualified for 4 Paws strictly on the needs of Danny (doctor’s prescription and input, along with 2 personal references was also a requirement). 4 Paws chose the type of service dog Danny would receive based on mine and the doctor’s input. We are also required to submit a video, providing great detail of Danny’s life at home, hobbies, places he visits, demeanor around dogs, behaviors, siblings, parents, etc. 4 Paws will study this video, learn about our family dynamic and life with Danny, in order to make the perfect match between Danny and service dog.
6. Pet Friendly. 4 Paws does not require that recipients give up their pets to receive a service dog as many agencies do. Pancake has been a member of our family for over 11 years now. If we had to take Pancake away, that would be like a punishment to our family. To me this would not be fair to place this on a new dog coming into the family. Also, we can see where a service dog needs to be able to deal with a multitude of distractions and situations.
We cannot imagine how a service dog will change our lives. We are anxious to once again take Danny on walks, visit the mall, pick up a few things at the grocery store, and hopefully rid ourselves of the great degree of isolation we oftentimes feel. We live everyday by tag-teaming Danny between the 3 of us (Kevin, Maggie, Kenny). What a joy it will be to have some help from a gift sent from God, courtesy of all our friends, family, and people we don’t even know…..Thank you for supporting our family along with 4 Paws for Ability.
