Picking up dropped items, giving hugs and smooches, opening doors, turning lights on and off...these are just a few of the activities performed by service dogs for the disabled. MetroWest met on March 20 at the Minnetonka Community Center to watch dogs in training and their instructors from Helping Paws demonstrate some of the skills the dogs must learn. Helping Paws is a nonprofit organization based in Hopkins that breeds, raises, and trains golden and black labs to be service dogs. The program which was founded in 1988, is entirely volunteer-operated. They have placed over 150 dogs in Minnesota. Although it may cost over $20,000 to raise and train a dog, applicants for a dog must pay only a modest application and equipment fee. Dogs are carefully matched with their new human companion, and once in service, the dogs promote self-sufficiency, confidence, and self esteem, allowing the clients to live more independently.
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