Four-legged
help
B
ay l or S c o t t & Wh i t e
He a lth is affiliating with
Ca nine Compa nions for
Independence®, a national
leader in the training of assistance dogs.
The joint goal is to bring a premier animal
training center to Dallas Fort-Worth to
serve deserving partners in this region.
Construction of the new Canine
Companions for Independence at Baylor
Scott & White Health – Kinkeade Campus
began in November and is expected to be
completed by the summer of 2015. This will
be the first Canine Companions training
center in the nation to be connected to a
health care system.
“Baylor Scott & White continually looks
for innovative ways to achieve our mission: to
serve all people by providing personalized
health and wellness through exemplary care,
education and research as a Christian ministry of healing,” said Joel Allison, CEO of
Baylor Scott & White Health. “Through this
unique extension of care, Baylor Scott &
White Health and Canine Companions for
Independence desire to give people with physical or developmental disabilities an enhanced
quality of life.”
The nine-acre Kinkeade Campus will be
used to train assistance dogs in order to
graduate up to 60 teams per year. The campus will include dormitory rooms, kennels,
indoor and outdoor training areas and multipurpose common spaces. The average cost
to breed and train each assistance dog is
more than $45,000, and assistance dogs are
provided free of
charge to individua ls. A s a result,
Baylor Health Care
System Foundation is
seeking philanthropic
support from the community to cover costs associated
with the new campus construction, as well as programmatic
support.
Earlier this year, teams began training at
a temporary facility at Baylor Medical
Center at Irving. One of the first teams to
graduate was U.S. Army Staff Sergeant
Brian Boone and his Canine Companions
teammate, Brindle.
During his service in Afghanistan, an
IED severed Brian’s left leg and damaged
nerves in both of his shoulders. Months of
rehabilitation and physical therapy helped
him regain some strength, but he hopes that
working with Brindle will make him even
more resilient. Not only is Brindle helping
Brian with physical tasks, his calming presence has helped with Brian’s mental recovery as well.
“Dogs are very soothing,” said Brian.
“Just being around them brings your spirit
up. That’s hard to beat.”
Canine Companions is known for training some of the best assistance dogs in the
country, and the Kinkeade Campus will
train three types of assistance dogs:
1) Service dogs assist adults with physical disabilities by performing daily tasks
2) Facility dogs
work with a professional in a visitation,
education, criminal justice or health care
setting
3) Skilled companions enhance independence for children and adults with
physical, cognitive and developmental
disabilities
Canine Companions assistance dogs are
trained in more than 40 commands,
including turning a light switch on and off,
opening doors, pulling wheelchairs and
picking up items. Canine Companions’
graduates develop a powerful relationship
with one another and this often leads to
increased independence, self-esteem and
inclusion for a person with a disability.
For more information on Canine
Companions for Independence at
Baylor Scott & White Health – Kinkeade,
contact Sarah Burdi at 214.820.4721 or
[email protected].
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