Hello from Dogs for the Deaf,

New Year’s Greetings from Dogs for the Deaf

Last year was a very good year for Dogs for the Deaf and we owe it all to the generous support we get from so many people just like you. A big thanks to you Good Sam Club members for all your hard work and generous support to our mission of rescuing dogs and helping people. We could not do this special work without you.

And 2011 is gearing up to be even better as we continue to implement expanded types of training. Of course, we still train Hearing Dogs for people with hearing loss. In the last few years, we’ve added some additional training programs so that we can rescue more dogs and help people with different disabilities and challenges.

Listed below are the types of dog we rescue, train, and place:

Hearing Dogs are trained to alert people to household sounds that are necessary for everyday living, safety, and independence. By providing sound awareness and companionship, these dogs enhance parenting skills, increase employability, and provide greatly increased freedom and independence.

Autism Assistance Dogs are trained to enhance the safety of children with autism by acting as an anchor and preventing the child from bolting into unsafe environments such as traffic, bodies of water, etc. These dogs also have a calming effect on the child and help improve the child’s willingness and ability to communicate, learn, and bond.

Program Assistance Dogs are trained to go to work with and assist professionals such as physicians, teachers, counselors, and courtroom advocates in the treatment of and work with their clients. These dogs help improve overall cognitive development and provide a calming effect, allowing the professional to better serve or treat their clients.

Miracle Mutts (special dogs for special people) are trained to be loving, supportive companions that can provide companionship, motivation and emotional support to children and adults with a wide variety of physical, mental, and emotional challenges and disabilities. These needs might include depression, loneliness, stroke, PTSD, severe arthritis, and panic/anxiety attacks.

With these additional types of dogs, we are able to rescue more dogs from shelters and help more people with a wider variety of disabilities and challenges. This expansion is proving to be a great benefit to all.

Make a resolution to help Dogs for the Deaf by doing one or all of the following:

• Make a commitment to help Dogs for the Deaf.
• Tell others about what we do and why they should help, too.
• Encourage your chapter to have a fundraiser and make a donation to Dogs for the Deaf
• Encourage someone who may benefit from our services to consider applying for a dog.

Learn more about Good Sam’s volunteer opportunities.