Role of assistance dogs as supportive care providers for disabled individuals

Introduction: Assistance dogs are often written about and featured in human interest pieces that focus on the amazing talents of the dog. Those studies that do exist focus on the positive elements of partnership. The purpose of this study was twofold: to add a realistic assessment of positive and negative aspects of assistance dog partnership, and to provide the training agency data to back up anecdotal evidence that recipient's lives have been changed by their dogs.

Methods: A selected number of disabled people who had been partnered with assistance dogs for over a year participated in interviews. Interviews were performed face-to-face and over the telephone. The interview tool was a predominantly scale-based questionnaire with several open ended questions to capture both qualitative and quantitative information from participants concerning the life changes they have experienced since receiving their dog.

Results: The most challenging aspect of owning an assistance dog was the physical act of caring for the dog. The rewarding aspect of the partnership was independence – both reduced reliance on human caregivers and increased ability to stay home or go out alone – as the major benefit. Secondarily, the respondents reported the emotional aspects of their relationship with their dog (having a constant companion and someone to love them unconditionally) as a strong positive element of partnership. Respondent satisfaction was high, both with dog ownership and with the agency. Almost unanimously, interviewees agreed they would get another dog in the future and recommend this agency to friends seeking an assistance dog.