Canine Assistants, a nationwide program created by Jennifer Arnold, is aiming to make their lives easier, with help from 75 to 100 dogs each year.
The program trains service dogs to help people who have physical disabilities such as epilepsy and other special needs.
Brooke Corl has just been paired up with her favorite four-legged friend. Corl, 19, suffers from a genetic bone condition that causes her bones to fracture very easily. Having the dog will provide much-needed extra-support.
"If we're in another part of the house and she would break an arm or a leg and she's in her bedroom, the dog could open the door and come get us," Corl's mother explains.
But on top of watching out for her, Corl also hopes the service dog will help her do things independently.
"I hope a service dog will be able to help me turn lights on and off, open doors, get somebody if something were to happen, pick stuff up that I may have dropped, and just kind of be there for me," she says.
Most service dogs are retrievers born, raised and trained at the canine assistants facility in Milton, GA. for more information on these service dogs, visit www.canineassistants.org .
To apply for an assistance dog, visit http://www.canineassistants.org/faq.html.
