Tag Archives: assistance dogs

The Sam Simon Foundation and the “Dog Nut”

More and more as I get older I find myself getting a little bit jaded about the world we live in. Too much of a gap between the haves and the have nots, too many who are in positions to do good with their fame and/or wealth but don’t, too much emphasis on the negative, etc. But every once in a while I stumble across a story of good that renews my faith in people. On Sunday night I ran across such a story while watching 60 Minutes. Morley Safer did a piece called “Meet Sam Simon, The Dog Nut.” … Continue reading →

Assistance Dogs of the West and The Lessons They Teach

Have you ever heard the expression, “You get what you give”? When a little birdie here at Families.com passed me a link to an organization called Assistance Dogs of the West (ADW) that saying came to mind. (Not because it related to myself, though I did appreciate the tip, but because of what I discovered about how this organization trains assistance dogs.) I had a general sense of how this process must work. I knew it was involved, took months, and required a certain type of doggie temperament. The one element I overlooked was the human aspect. It’s not just … Continue reading →

Canine Reading Assistants

It’s a sad scene from any number of old movies and TV shows: little boy or girl heads for the bus, faithful dog following. “No, doggie, you can’t come to school with me!” Close up on sad dog face. But don’t be surprised to see a dog at the school or library these days. Around the country, canine reading assistants have been joining children who have trouble reading for story time. The programs have different names – READ (Reading Education Assistance Dogs, out of Salt Lake City, UT); HART (Human-Animal Relational Therapies of Mahopac, NY); and more. But they all … Continue reading →