Service dog - Appolo
For some time I wanted to contribute to sponsoring a service dog for a child. A hunter from the USA made this possible when he donated money to LCA after his hunt with Thwane Safaris in South Africa.
The South African Guide-dogs Association for the Blind also train dogs to assist people with other disabilities other than blindness. With numerous commands the Service Dog becomes the physical extensions of their recipients by retrieving dropped items and turning on light switches, etc.
The specially bred dogs are ready and able to perform a variety of basic tasks designed to bring independence to a person with a physical disability.
Their training procedures are highly specialized. The dogs are trained in a variety of environments, including shopping malls, restaurants and other public places to prepare them for working in all types of situations.
Coming from carefully selected pedigreed stock as puppies, they are placed in volunteer homes, “Puppy Walkers” as we call them, to begin their first stages of training. After 12-14 months with the Puppy Walkers, the pup returns to the training centre to start with approximately six months advanced training. The skills and personalities of the dogs are thoroughly evaluated by the training staff, and each dog is matched and very carefully assessed before being placed with a disabled person. We were part of the group that sponsored Apollo.
He was specifically trained to assist a boy in Klerksdorp.
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