Many people with disabilities need a service dog for their wellbeing and to participate in everyday life. A local nonprofit organization is working to support the disabled community in Tucson and Phoenix through offering a specialized form of training and certification for those needing service dogs.
Ability Dogs of Arizona is one of only two accredited owner-trained assistance dog programs in the state. Through this style of training, both the dog and owner are taught together, allowing a bond to form between the two. Furthermore, those who receive training in Tucson do so through some group classes, allowing a community to foster amongst those who are in need of service dogs. Friendships are constantly forming in the training room, Mobley said.
“It’s really amazing to see the connection that’s forged between people in the program,” said Scott Mobley, executive director of Ability Dogs of Arizona. “There’s a lot of loneliness and isolation that we know accompanies disabilities, and it’s a really powerful thing to see people connecting, not just with their dogs and with their trainers, but with one another.”
Previously known as Hand-Dogs, Ability Dogs of Arizona, located at 75 S. Montego Drive in Tucson, was established in 1973. Its founder, Alamo Reaves, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in college, turning her experiences into activism for individuals with disabilities. Inspired by assistance dogs for the blind, Reaves collaborated with a dog trainer and her physical therapist to train a Shetland Sheepdog. The organization grew from there, and formally achieved nonprofit status in June 1978.
Over 50 years later, the mission has expanded to include the training and certification of service dogs for a slew of different disabilities. Trainers can teach dogs how to sniff out when a diabetic has low blood sugar, help those suffering from a epileptic seizure recover and support a veteran experiencing a PTSD episode. They also train dogs for the deaf/hard of hearing community and for those with stability or mobility issues.
They do not train guide dogs for the blind or visually impaired.
Accredited by Assistance Dogs International, Ability Dogs of Arizona abides by all their standards. It takes approximately 12 to 18 months of training for a dog to be certified, but it depends on the tasks needed for the owner’s health. To qualify for the program, individuals must have a letter from a mental health professional or physician that proves their disability, and if they bring a dog to them, it must get assessed to make sure they are cut out to be service dogs.
“There’s a lot of things that go into what makes a dog a good service dog, and we’re pretty careful about the dogs that we let into the program, because we want to make sure that everybody who starts our training program certifies,” Mobley said.
For those who do not bring their own dog for assessment and subsequent training for certification, the nonprofit has a Matching Program.
It can cost anywhere from $17,000 to nearly $40,000 to train a service dog, the National Service Animal Registry estimates, with several organizations such as Ability Dogs of Arizona helping to subsidize the costs. The pricing and fees to certify and train a service dog through Ability Dogs is as follows:
Ability Dogs of Arizona was first founded in 1973.
• Individual consultation: $30
• Training package (monthly): $260 for Tucson students (two group lessons, two private lessons); $340 for Phoenix students (four private lessons)
• Additional lessons (as needed): $80/hour for a private lesson and $50 per group lesson for Tucson students; $85/hour for a private lesson for Phoenix students
• Certification fee: $250
If applying through the Matching Program, there is an additional fee for the dog. Understanding that a service dog is a need for many in the disabled community, Ability Dogs of Arizona also offers financial aid for those who cannot afford those costs.
“It’s much cheaper if you’re paying out of pocket to get a dog with us than it is at most places,” Mobley said. “But sometimes it’s (still) too much, and so it’s really great to be able to provide scholarships, either in part or in fall, to people who need them.”
Ability Dogs of Arizona relies on donations to support the disabled community needing this service. The nonprofit is an Arizona Qualified Charitable Organization (QCO), allowing donations to qualify for a state tax credit, meaning that when people donate to them, they can apply for dollar-for-dollar credit towards their state taxes, up to $400 for single filers or $800 for married couples filing jointly.
To offset the costs of certification for service dogs, Ability Dogs of Arizona also offers training services for the general public, a growing part of their operations.
For more information about the nonprofit or to sign up for classes, visit abilitydogsaz.org.
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