Can Do Canines brings peace of mind to those in need | Community
A dog is the perfect companion. Whether they are the beloved family pet, or an assistance animal, there’s nothing quite like them. Those in need of assistance in Carver County have recently been in contact with Can Do Canines, an organization focusing on bringing five different kinds of service dogs to residents around Minnesota, free of charge.
“I felt myself getting weaker in my physical fitness and I was always in shape and very active,” said Kim Switch, Mayer resident and client of Can Do Canines. “I was diagnosed finally, after years of tests, with Adult Onset Cerebellum Ataxia. There’s no cure and it’s progressive.”
Switch, a USMC veteran, found herself becoming weaker and weaker, even with a healthy lifestyle from her time in the marines. Once she received her diagnosis, she began to examine her options. During this examination, a friend convinced her to look into a service dog.
Once she began looking, she came across Can Do Canines. Despite her continuing struggles, she was able to get the help she needed.
“My gait was becoming unstable, my speech was slurring,” said Switch. “CDC were patient and professional every minute of my journey.”
Can Do Canines, like they do with all their clients, worked with Swtich to determine her needs. They provide five different service dogs, including mobility, diabetes assistance, seizure assistance, hearing, and autism assistance. Because of Switch’s ataxia, she was paired with a mobility assistance dog: Icon.
“When I first met Icon, I thought, ‘Omigosh he’s huge, I can’t do this,” she said.
One of the biggest hurdles of beginning this journey was asking for help, Switch continued. Not only that, but she describes herself as the caregiver and “always in control” and she was now having to relinquish those traits to Icon so he could “be her soldier”. However, despite the initial shock, Icon is an essential part of Switch’s life.
While Icon is a mobility assistance dog, he also helps Switch out in several other ways. For example, her condition gives her migraines. When she develops a migraine, Icon brings her an ice pack to help relieve the pain, even closing the freezer door after getting the back. Icon also helps with laundry, helps Switch get back up if she falls, and serves as a companion for her emotional needs.
Of course, Switch isn’t the only person receiving help from Can Do Canines. In fact, they’ve been helping Minnesotans since the mid 1980s.
“The concept for our organization began when Al Peters’s wife, Penny, attended a conference for audiologists in 1986,” Caren Hansen, Marketing and Communications Manager at Can Do Canines, said. “When she came home and told Al about a presentation on hearing dogs, he was inspired to make these dogs accessible to those who needed them.”
As they continued to provide hearing assistance dogs to clients, the executives of Can Do Canines (The Hearing Dog Program of Minnesota at the time) kept attending these kinds of conferences. Throughout the 90s and early 2000s, the program added different service dogs, eventually ending up with their current five and new name is 2009. And they’ve continued to provide service dogs to their clients for free that entire time, totaling to 750 dogs over the last 35 years.
Part of the process of finding a dog is understanding the client, according to Hansen. The easy part is determining the kind of dog a client needs, since their disability is pretty clear. It’s determining the details that’s important. For example, while mobility assistance dogs like Icon have a clear purpose, but each client has specific needs to keep in mind such as Switch’s disease being progressive.
“Choosing a dog for each particular client is a careful, thoughtful process,” said Hansen. “In fact, if a client has needs in more than one service area, we will train the dog with those combination of skills, such as for mobility and seizures.”
In a sense, according to Hansen, the dogs choose their occupation. For example, hearing dogs are typically already eager dogs, which works because they are always on the clock. Autism dogs Hansen described as “bomb-proof” because they aren’t easily startled and generally very chill with everything around them, which is perfect for clients. Loyalty is a trait of Diabetes Assist Dogs since they have to be with their specific person all the time since they actively keep them alive.
And every time, that process leads to a big reward.
“Since each and every dog has such a profound effect by offering more freedom, independence and peace of mind, the overall benefits are inspiring beyond words,” said Hansen.
Of course, not all dogs succeed in training or eventually retire. These dogs are adopted out into loving homes, and if possible the retirees become a permanent fixture in their partner’s home. For families that would struggle to afford a service dog, Can Do Canines does help them. They initially give “a generous amount of supplies” to the client for caring for the dog, and continually checking in to see how the client is doing.
If you’re interested in applying for a service dog, visit can-do-canines.org to learn more about the organization. They also share stories of their clients in their Tails to Tell series, the next of which is May 13 at 7pm with another coming June 10 at 7pm. To view these, visit tailstotell.can-do-canines.org to register or call 763-331-3000 ext 152.
