Dogtoberfest raises funds for pet helpers

“We call it a carnival for dogs. It is a great family event for anyone that has dogs that are well-mannered and like to get out and do things,” said JoAnn Turnbull, president of Handi-Dogs, a local nonprofit dedicated to helping older adults and people with disabilities gain independence and improve their quality of life through specialized training of dogs.

This event is more than a family-and-pet fun fest: It’s also Handi-Dog’s signature annual fundraiser.

“It is a blast and we keep the admission price low because we want it to be a community event where people come out and spend a few hours with their dog families,” Turnbull said.

The event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at The Gregory School, 3231 N. Craycroft Road.

The group hopes to raise at least $30,000 to help fund dog training programs. Standard fees range between $1,000 and $1,500 for the specialized 12-to-18-month training certification program that complies with the standards of Assistance Dogs International.

“We have financial assistance plans that can reduce the fees by 75 percent. We try to make the program affordable for most people, including those with lower incomes. And we have an indoor facility so that we can provide training year-round. It is American Disabilities Association-compliant and comfortable for people who may have trouble walking or standing for long or have other physical limitations,” Turnbull said.

The classes include group training and one-on-one field trips to teach dogs basic obedience, appropriate behaviors in public spaces, and assistance tasks tailored to each owner’s needs. The program serves people of all ages with mental, emotional or physical disabilities, including children with autism and their families.

Turnbull, who came to Handi-Dogs two years ago after seven years with the national nonprofit Pet Partners, said that she is continually awed by the many ways that she has witnessed service dogs change and enrich people’s lives. She emphasized that dogs can be trained to accomplish diverse tasks ranging from assisting the hearing impaired and aiding amputees to alerting people who have diabetes when their glucose is too high or low and helping people with anxiety disorders to maneuver in crowds and public places.

She said dogs of all breeds can become assistance dogs and that clients can train their pets to do almost anything, including opening and closing drawers and doors; assisting with laundry; bringing the phone in an emergency; opening refrigerators and removing items; and retrieving canes and walkers.

“It is incredible what dogs can do and how they can be trained to help, and there is something so special about having that unconditional love always with you. There are so many ways that dogs can help someone to get their independence back and help them to be less reliant on waiting for a human caregiver or spouse,” she said.

Additionally, service dogs are conduits for conversation that curb the isolation felt by many people with disabilities, according to Linda Moore, who became a Handi-Dogs certified service dog team with her Labrador, Aiden, in 2011.

“Having Aiden at my side opens opportunities for interacting that would otherwise never happen,” said Moore, who has hearing impairment.

She said Aiden has also saved her from countless communication mishaps and that his responses include alerts to emergency vehicles when she is driving as well as making her aware when her phone rings and when someone calls her name and rings the doorbell. Aiden also cues the 68-year-old outdoor enthusiast to approaching mountain bikers or hikers when she is outdoors on trails with her husband.

Moore believes that working with an owner-trained organization allows an essential bond to develop between the human and animal during the instruction, as opposed to after the schooling. This active form of training also makes it easier to continue training a service dog if the owner’s needs progress.

“For me, it has been the grandest of journeys,” she said.